Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
by Devonny Rose
Summary: A BtVSHP crossover. Where do you go when your own world is turned against you? What do you do when your friends leave you behind? This is a story of a teenage boy who learns the meaning of trust and betrayal, finds his true family, and sees the world in a
1. Previously

Title: Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus  
  
Author: Devonny Rose  
  
Setting: Harry's fifth year and beyond  
  
Summary: A BtVS/HP crossover. Where do you go when your own world is turned against you? What do you do when your friends leave you behind? This is a story of a teenage boy who learns the meaning of trust and betrayal, finds his true family, and sees the world in a different light.  
  
Disclaimer: This will be the only disclaimer that I put up. If it's FANfiction, it's obviously not written by me, and I won't be repeating that over and over. So here it goes.... I don't own anything related to Harry Potter. He and the wizarding world belong to the great J.K. Rowling (who is definitely a better writer than me, so you can tell she didn't write this). And Buffy, the Scoobies, Vampires, Stakes, and all that good stuff, belong to Joss Whedon and associates. In case of any references, I don't own Angel, either. I'll throw in bagels, payphones, sporks, M&M's, and Bill Gates for good measure, though I doubt they will be in this story. =^)  
  
A/N: This was originally a dream I had, but it evolved into a story. Enjoy!  
  
Prologue: Previously  
  
For all of you who haven't ever heard of Harry Potter and his tales, here's the backstory.  
  
Previously on Harry Potter....  
  
Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, Gryffindor Seeker, Hogwarts Golden Boy, Savior of the Wizarding World. Adored the way most heroes are, but modest, not wanting his fame. And he definitely is famous.  
  
You see, when Harry was only a year old, the most feared dark wizard in a century, Voldemort (more commonly referred to as You-Know-Who), came to the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow to kill them. James Potter, Harry's father, fought him off bravely, but was in vain. He was killed quickly. And Harry's mother, Lily Potter, was left to try to plead for her son's life. However, Voldemort has no mercy. He got rid of her, too. But, when he turned his wand on Harry, the killing curse, Avada Kedavra, rebounded on the Dark Lord himself and weakened him into a ghostly form. So, Harry was acclaimed as the one who defeated Voldemort.  
  
Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry, decided that the boy would go to live with his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin - The Dursleys. Big mistake. Harry grew up hated and belittled. But, when he was eleven, Hagrid, the Hogwarts' Gamekeeper, came to take him back to the magical world.  
  
Over the next few years, Harry went through many trials. He fought the spirit Voldemort again over the Philosopher's Stone, a stone that would not only give the Dark Lord his body back, but make him immortal. He battled a Basilisk, giant snake, set on him by a 16-year old Voldemort (under his given name - Tom Marvolo Riddle) that was trapped in a diary. He had to drive back Dementor's to save his godfather, Sirius Black. Sirius had been framed for the betrayal of Harry's parents and the death of 13 people with one curse, by Peter Pettigrew, one of the killed. Peter turned out to be hiding as Harry's friend Ron's rat, Scabbers.  
  
But, Harry always came out on top. And then came fourth year. Someone had entered his name into the Triwizard Tournament, a competition being held for the first time in one hundred years. Strange thing was, he was not only under age, but there was only suppose to be three competitors, and Harry was number four.  
  
Dealing with the Tasks, his friend Ron not talking to him, a reporter bashing him, he finally made it to the end. Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion, and Harry took the cup at the same time. Though they thought that it would be Hogwarts victory, they were sadly mistaken. A supporter of Voldemort (Barty Crouch, Jr.) had infiltrated the school and turned the cup into a Portkey, a device that transports someone from one place to the other. Cedric was killed. And Harry, he was forced to watch the rebirth of the Dark Lord, duel with him, and was tortured. Through an miracles occurrence called Priori Incantatem, Harry managed to escape alive.  
  
Although Dumbledore began revitalizing the forces against Voldemort, Cornelius Fudge, British Minister of Magic, called Harry insane and refused to believe him.  
  
And this is where we left our young hero. Little did he know his life would soon be getting more exciting and dangerous than ever before.  
  
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I just put this in so I didn't have to add everything into my story later. And this is kind of TV show-y, like Buffy the Vampire slayer. 


	2. 1 New Outlook

CH1: New Outlook  
  
It had been a long and tiring summer. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, it was only the third week of July.  
  
After listening to his Uncle, Vernon Dursley, rant all the way back to 4 Privet Drive, Harry went up to his room and flopped onto his bed, thinking. It had been the Year from Hell in Harry's mind. His thoughts flicked through everything that had happened.  
  
Flashes of the Third Task crashed through his mind. The Spider, Portkey, Graveyard, Kill the Spare, Cedric dying, the Potion, Voldemort, Death Eaters, Cruciatus Curse, Priori Incatatem, his Parents....the list went on and on. Even though Harry knew it wasn't his fault, he still blamed himself. If it wasn't for him, Voldemort wouldn't be back, Cedric would still be alive, the wizarding world wouldn't be in danger.  
  
Harry rolled over. He did this over and over again, everyday, every week, examining his thoughts. And his views changed. Slowly, he began to see the world, not in black and white like he use to, but in gray.  
  
He realized that there was no good or evil, just like Quirell had told him back in first year. That it depended on the intent of the wizard and what they use their powers for that makes them dark or light.  
  
And that to the whole world, he, Harry, was just a pawn, a symbol, someone they could use and then toss away. His second and fourth years were prime examples of that. At the drop of a hat, one thing done unhero-like*, everyone would turn on him. Even people he trusted deeply, like his best friend, Rom Weasley.  
  
Even Dumbledore. He didn't really care about Harry himself, but only that his weapon of light would be destroyed. He put his life in danger in first year. Harry could have been killed over the Stone, yet Dumbledore still sent him done there. He manipulated every move so that it would be the Boy Who Lived who fought Voldemort again.  
  
In that aspect, Harry wasn't sure who was worst: Dumbledore or Voldemort. At least the Dark Lord didn't pretend to be good. In the coming war, Harry knew that he would be on the Light side, but he wouldn't let Dumbledore control him anymore.  
  
And, he also realized, it would have been better for him to have been sorted into Slytherin. Harry had searched through a book on Ministry officials he got from the library and found that most people were either from Ravenclaw or Slytherin.  
  
Everyone assumed that Slytherins were evil because of a few horrible people who came out of that House. Sure, a lot of Death Eaters were in Slytherin, but there were some from every house. People just don't see that.  
  
Also, Harry wasn't sure if he fit into Gryffindor anymore. Ever since the Triwizard Tournament, Harry vowed that he would never be caught unprepared again. He took a leaf out of Hermione's book and finished all his homework early. Then, he started reading up on everything he could get his hands on. Herm was glad to help there, and sent him loads of books on dueling, protection charms, healing potions, defense tactics...you name it, he read it. Soon, he knew enough to hold his own against any wizard who tried to challenge him.  
  
By far the best thing he got though, was from his godfather, Sirius. Sirius had been best friends with his father, and the group of them, the Marauders, were known to break the rules. So, of course, he sent Harry a book on illegal things. It had a nifty** little charm that would mask all his magic from the Ministry so he could practice.  
  
The two most useful things in the book were Animagi and Aparating. Everyday, Harry would go out into a deserted clearing near his house and practice. He soon managed to Aparate from one end of the clearing to the other. And, by meditating, he found out his Animagi form: A Gryffin (lion with eagle wings). With a little practice, he could change his hands to paws, grow a mane, and form wings. 'Pretty good for a couple of weeks', Sirius wrote when Harry told him.  
  
And he learned more. Harry sent out for Dark Arts books, to learn what the enemy would be using on him, and how to counter the effects from them. He brewed Veritaserum, just in case. He had a bunch of daggers and knives on him that he vowed to learn how to use. And, he now had his parents wands, so he always had an extra on him, and the Sword of Gryffindor, which Dumbledore sent to him.  
  
But, all this magical practice wasn't enough for Harry. He started running everyday and taking Karate and fencing lessons at a local self-defense school. He figured it would be a blow to Voldemort's pride if he fought him using Muggle (non-magical) methods.  
  
The summer flew by. It was now the week before Harry's birthday - the 31st of July. He was sitting on his bed, reading up on Dark Creatures, when a brigade of owls flew through his open window.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------  
  
* = Is this a word? It is now.  
  
** = Yes, I said nifty. I'm scared, too. 


	3. 2 Life Changing Letters

A/N: Thanks to Silver Wolf for the first review on this story!  
  
^.....^ = letters  
  
CH2: Life Changing Letters  
  
~The summer flew by. It was now the week before Harry's birthday - the 31st of July. He was sitting on his bed, reading up on Dark Creatures, when a brigade of owls flew through his open window. ~  
  
Harry walked over to the flock and surveyed the scene. There was Ron's owl Pig, flitting around wildly, Percy's owl, Hermes, and three he had never seen before. Removing their burdens, he sat down to read his letters. Ron's first:  
  
^Potter,  
  
How the hell could you?!? I thought you were my best friend. Pretending to be kind and noble and brave. But you're nothing more than a lying traitor. How could you betray us like that? We trusted you. My mum and sister are in tears. Over you! The entire world thought you were some great hero, but you're not. You are nothing but a murdering, sniveling coward! I was so naive to have ever actually liked you.  
  
Your ex-best friend,  
  
Ron Weasley^  
  
Startled, Harry read through the contents again. 'What is going on?' Cautiously, he turned to the remaining letter, hoping they had better news. He was wrong.  
  
^Harry,  
  
As much as cannot believe I am writing to you, you are in trouble. Enclosed is an article from the daily profit.^  
  
At this, Harry took out the other piece of paper in the envelope. His eyes went wide at the headline.  
  
The Boy Who Lived - A Murderer?  
  
Snatches of the story went through his mind. ...ludicrous tale...You-Know- Who's supposed revival...fellow student, Cedric Diggory...mentally unstable...Harry shook himself and turned his attention back to this letter.  
  
^As you can see, our oh-so-wise Minister is covering up Voldemort's rebirth by blaming his Cedric's death on you. And that's not the worst part. You better be siting down for this....Albus has declared to the Order of the Phoenix(our group that fights the Death Eaters) that it would, and I quote, "not be prudent to associate ourselves with a suspected murderer in such a controversial time." It's bull shit. If that were so than we wouldn't be working with Black. Anyway, it basically means you're on your own.  
  
I know you think that I despise you, but, while that may be true, I won't let the wizarding world's greatest hope for survival get shipped off to Azkaban. And so, the other people who believe in you and myself, have concocted a plan to help. On another note, I am sorry to say, that group is very small. It only consists of Lupin, Black, Minerva, and I. Most witches and wizards will not dare to go against Dumbledore. Count yourself lucky there are some.  
  
The plan is this. In three days time, the Ministry will be coming to collect you, at least according to Minerva's sources. The night before, midnight on the 26th, this letter will turn into a Portkey that will take you to a small coffee shop in West Rockster. A friend of mine will be there to collect you. As hard as this might be, you must trust me. This friend will have a proposition for you. Suffice to say, you may not be so helpless anymore.  
  
If there are any problems with this, send a note with my owl, Salazar. He has a spell on him that will speed up the trip. Just put it in code(I'm sure you can think up something). The ministry will have people watching your mail soon.  
  
Be careful and good luck,  
  
Severus Snape^  
  
'Snape?!? He's helping me?!?' Slowly, the news sunk in. He was being tried for murder? Dumbledore had abandoned him? His best chance for survival was Snape? Bloody hell.  
  
Harry tried to take his mind off his problems. He had lots to get ready. But first, he still had four more letters. Dreading what it had to say, he took the letter off Hermes leg. It read:  
  
^Harry,  
  
Mate, you got yourself in deep this time. We can't believe Dumbledore won't back you up. You-Know-Who could attack at anytime and nobody is doing anything!  
  
Sorry, but things aren't very good at this end. Dad tried to find some evidence to protect you, but gave up. He's going with Dumbledore on this one. Barmy dense coots! Both of them! And Ron, well, I bet you already got his letter so you know what he thinks. He's so daft sometimes! You would think he'd stick up for his best friend. You're like family to us! Unfortunately, that family only contains the three of us now. We tried to convince them that you didn't do it, but Ron stormed off, and Mum told us off, and Ginny started crying. Not very uplifting.  
  
And Hermione? She's siding with Ron. Apparently, she is very distraught at what her best friend has done and won't come out of her room. At least, that is what her parents said. We just wrote to tell you that, anything you need, just ask us. We're still here for you.  
  
Keep your chin up, Harry. This is nothing. Just a small murder trial, the entire wizarding world against you, and a very evil wizard who wants your head on a platter....Okay, shutting up now.  
  
Fred and George Weasley^  
  
Harry chuckled quietly at this. The twins could always cheer him up and it was nice to know who else trusted him. He moved on to the next.  
  
^Dear Harry,  
  
I'm not really sure how to write this. I just got a copy of the Daily Prophet and saw the article in there on...you. Of course, I was angry at the beginning, but then I realized that it wasn't true. It couldn't be. Cedric had mentioned many times how you two were helping each other. If you wanted to win so badly, you wouldn't have told him about the dragons. And, I may not know you well, you don't seem like the killing type.  
  
I wish this wasn't happening. I know it isn't what Cedric would have wanted. He would have hated that someone else's life was being ruined over his own.  
  
There is also something I need to ask you. If you wouldn't mind, could you please tell me what happened during the Task. If it's too hard on you, I'll understand.  
  
Please take care,  
  
Cho Chang^  
  
He gently put that letter aside. He'd think about what she asked later and he moved on.  
  
^Harry,  
  
Oh My God! I can't believe this! They actually think you murdered Cedric? I know we aren't close friends but you always looked out for me. I can't believe you would even harm anyone. Well, if they weren't a Death Eater, but that's a given.  
  
Chances are, you have some grand scheme to escape going to Azkaban. And I know you won't be anywhere near Hogwarts so you need to hear this now. I want to help you. Please tell me someway I can. I don't want to feel helpless anymore.  
  
Your some-what friend,  
  
Neville^  
  
Harry smiled at Neville's note. He had been extra nice to Neville since he had found out about the Longbottoms. Probably another reason he wanted to be involved. And there was something Harry needed done.  
  
Out of all of the notes he had received, the next was by far the most surprising.  
  
^Pot-Harry,  
  
You probably will think this is some elaborate hoax to get you caught - either by Aurors or Death Eaters. But hear me out.  
  
We were never friends, there is no denying it, but I always respected you. And I really did want to be you friend. This may seem unbelievable, but, for the last 13 years, my father has had me under the Imperious Curse. I tried fighting and did have a few relapses (one was when I had offered you my hand on the train), but I could never fully beat it. When you and your friends hexed me on the train last year, you sorta knock down the main barriers of the Curse and I can now totally throw it off. My father hasn't realized this yet, luckily, but it is only a matter of time. And I need your help.  
  
My father wants me to become a Death Eater. And I really can't stand the idea of hurting innocent people. Which is where you come in. Knowing you, the little that I do, you will run from this trial. I want to come with you. I need a new life, just like you.  
  
Please consider helping me. Your my only hope.  
  
Draco Malfoy^  
  
Harry sat on his bed in shock. 'Well, that's a twist. Should I trust him? He seems pretty sincere.' He let out a long breath. The Boy Who Lived got up and walked over to his desk. He was going to have a lot of letters to write.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
On July 24th 1995, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagal, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black sat in the Shrieking Shack trying to calm their nerves. It wasn't working. Sirius was pacing around in a small circle while Remus was watching a dust ball float around the room. Finally Minerva broke the silence.  
  
"Do you think this will work?" she asked Severus meekly.  
  
"I don't know," he answered. "I hope so," he added quietly.  
  
"It better. I won't let my godson be sent to that hell! No one should go through that." Sirius flopped ungracefully on the couch next to Remus who put a comforting hand on his friends shoulder.  
  
"I know, Siri. I know." Just then, Salazar soared through a crack in the boarded up door. Everyone stood up to hear what Harry had to say..er, write.  
  
^Dear Min, Raven, Padfoot, and Moony,  
  
Thank you very, very, very much. You don't know how much it means to me that you still have faith in me. And the plan is great. There are just a few things that have come up.  
  
Dragon Boy wrote to me today. Apparently, his father has been controlling him and he doesn't want to join Tom's Munches. He wants to come with me, wherever it is I am going. He needs a new life. Could you do that?  
  
I may have contacts at the school. The Gemini-twins and the Gardener both say that they will help in any way they can. The Oriental Angel wants to know what happened in the Graveyard, but she will also back me up. Unfortunately, the rest of the Red Lions, including the Hot Head, and the Owl are siding with Bumblebee and his Group of Over-Roasted Chickens, and the Mighty Dense Ones.  
  
And, for your information, I've been preparing for the upcoming battle with Snake Face and am not 'helpless' anymore, thankyouverymuch. I'm not the best fighter in the world, but I can hold my own in a fight now.  
  
Yours til France fries Turkey in Greece,  
  
The Lightning Child^  
  
"Well," Remus said. "That was...interesting."  
  
"I told him to write it in code. I just wish we could decipher what he's saying," said Snape.  
  
"It can't be too hard-," Sirius began, but Minerva cut him off.  
  
"Really! It's easy to read."  
  
"Then enlighten us."  
  
"It says...Dear Minerva, Severus, Sirius, and Remus, Thank you, yadda, yadda, There needs to be a few changes in the plan...Draco Malfoy has contacted me. His father was controlling him with the Imperious Curse and he doesn't want to become a Death Eater. Can he come with me? The Weasley Twins, Neville Longbottom, and Cho Chang have said that they will back me up, although Cho wants to hear what happened during the Third Task. But the rest of the Weasleys including Ron, and Hermione have sided with Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, and the Ministry. I have been preparing for the fight against You-Know-Who, so I'm not that helpless....Then he writes a fairly amusing closing and signs it from Harry." The guys in the room looked blankly at her.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well, I guess we have more planing to do." And they sat down to work.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Neville Longbottom was siting out in the back garden. His house was filed with different Ministry workers. Mrs. Longbotton, Neville's Grandmother, was an attorney for the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. She had never lost a case. Not at all comforting when the defendant was a friend of yours.  
  
Suddenly, his owl, Athena, swooped down onto Neville's shoulder. She had Harry's reply.  
  
^Dear Gardener,  
  
This may sound strange, but as they have eyes everywhere, it must be written like this.  
  
And speaking of eyes, I need my own. The castle has many secrets and it is hard to know all. I would be very grateful if you would write and tell me what happens. Anything - attacks, ministry news, even throw in the latest gossip! It hurts to know I am no longer welcome there, but you still are. Enjoy it.  
  
The Lightning Child^  
  
Neville read the letter over and over, pondering exactly what Harry meant.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Twins sat outside, over looking the make-shift Quidditch Pitch in the backyard. They had played many games on it, many with their honorary little brother, Harry. They were worried about him. As the sun began to set, Hermes sailed back towards them.  
  
"Harry's reply," Fred stated. George nodded as he unloaded Hermes of his burden and the owl took off again. They open the letter.  
  
^Gemini Twins,  
  
Be careful. The short-sighted leaders are watching. They are everywhere.  
  
On to a less serious note, I hope you two are putting the funds to good use. There better be tons of pranks this year! I want to hear all about them and I'm sure I will.  
  
I wish to thank you for being there. You are the closest things to older brothers I ever had and I do hope we will meet again.  
  
Take care off the Team, you'll need a new Keeper and Seeker this year and reserves since most of the original Gryffindor Lions will be graduating. For Seeker, I'd check out Natalie McDonald, she seems pretty good at noticing things others don't and has super maneuvering skills. You'll be sure to win every time.  
  
Lots of Laughs,  
  
The Lightning Child  
  
A.K.A. Main Investor of Weasley Wizard Wheezes  
  
P.S. Don't give up on your dreams.^  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Draco Malfoy was sprawled out on his back on his bed and sighed up to the ceiling. He really hoped Pott-no, Harry, was going to help him. He didn't want to imagine the consequences if he was left to his own devices. Soon, two owl were gliding into his room. One he recognized as his own Eagle owl, Paracelsus, but the other was unfamiliar. He took the parchment from his own owl first, eager to hear what Harry had answered.  
  
^Dragon Boy,  
  
Of course I'll help you! I know what it's like to be in an unfavorable situation and also what the Deaths have to do. I understand.  
  
On a side note, this letter may sound strange, but I believe you understand the value of secrecy and also the ministries moral value. Let me give you a hint: first one is high, second is way down at the bottom of Hell.  
  
The Raven will be setting something up. I don't exactly know where we will be going, but it may be better that way. One of us will write you soon to finalize all plans.  
  
Take Care,  
  
The Lightning Child  
  
P.S. I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time around each other in the near future. Let's start over.^  
  
Draco grinned at the letter, bursting with joy that he had been trusted so easily. He puzzled over who 'The Raven' was as he opened the next letter. His question was answered.  
  
^Draco,  
  
Harry wrote to me that you wish to be included in the plans. Don't worry, I know exactly why you want to get away. This letter is a Portkey. It'll activate at midnight on the 26th and take you to a meeting spot. You'll find out the rest there.  
  
I'll see you soon,  
  
Severus Snape^  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Cho Chang was just about to sit down for dinner when her owl, Circe, flew into the kitchen. Her parents excused her so she could read Harry's letter.  
  
^Dear Cho,  
  
Thank you. It means a lot to me to have people who still trust me. That list is dwindling everyday.  
  
I never did get to say sorry about Cedric. He was a good person and shouldn't have died.  
  
And, it may be hard on me, but you have the right to know exactly what happened while we were gone. So here it goes.  
  
I guess it started right after we got into the maze and Cedric and I split up....^  
  
Cho read, tears silently going down her cheeks. Harry described how Voldemort had come back, the duel, and how Cedric asked Harry to bring his body back. He went on to what happened after with the fake-Moody and Fudge, to the meeting with the Diggorys. He even added that he had given the money to the Weasley Twins so they could start a joke shop, feeling people could do with more laughs in the coming days. When she finished, Cho dried her eyes and made her way back downstairs, wondering how much one boy could take before he broke. 


	4. 3 Only Time Will Tell

A/N: Thanks to Ran; tima: I hadn't read it before this, but it is similar. Maybe were on the same brainwave. Anyway, are you going to write more of that story. It's very good!; lilytiger20; LoMaRiBa: I know they seem a bit far fetched, but maybe he's a multi-tasker? And, he started taking lessons for the fighting stuff, he's not very good yet. I thought of the Ministry kind of like the American judicial system: you need a warrant before going in. It will take that time to gather all the evidence together. Minerva only knows when they are coming because of her connections with the Ministry; Silver Wolf; tobytdk: They definitely have to go to the Hellmouth! Think of all the trouble they can get in there!; Fage of Hyren: I'll admit, I have read that story before and probably absorbed some of the beginning points for my own, but my Dumbledore is not going to be so....what's the word, creepy? Goodly evil? Power hungry? Control maniac?; suicidaltoast; potter-man; Jewelclaw Lady of the Wind; litine; Lady Phoenix Gryffindor; and White Rider.  
  
CH3: Only Time Will Tell  
  
The next few days went by slowly. Harry did long, meaningless jobs for the Dursleys and at night, he organized his things to be ready for travel. Shortly after receiving that letter from Fred and George, he had sent a letter to Hermione, but hadn't gotten a reply yet.  
  
It was now the night he was suppose to leave. 11:45. Harry checked and double checked his room to make sure he wasn't leaving anything behind. At least, nothing he didn't want to leave behind. A sudden tapping at the window alerted him to Hedwig's return.  
  
Harry let her in and she soared down to his bed, But, when he checked to owl's leg, he was disappointed to find his own letter there, unopened and unread.  
  
Sighing, he coaxed Hedwig into her cage and waited for the Portkey to activate. 11:50. 11:57. 12:00. In a swirl of lights and colors, Harry was lifted off his feet and transported far away from Privet Drive.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Miles and miles away, Draco was getting ready for the same thing. Muffled noise from downstairs told him that his father had guests over. Probably Death Eaters. Shutting his suitcase, Draco thumped it off his bed and made his way over to the desk, where the Portkey was.  
  
He wrote a small note to his mother and snatched up the letter. The clock struck midnight and he disappeared.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Early morning, June 26, Petunia Dursley was preparing her son's breakfast. Her husband had already left for work when there was a knock on the door. Before she could answer it however, several robed figures appeared in her living room. The door opened and a brown-haired man wearing dark blue robes walked in.  
  
"We were going to do this the Muggle way," he snapped at the others.  
  
"Sorry, sir," a couple mumbled.  
  
"Now, I apologize, ma'am, for our unexpected entrance," he said, turning to Petunia. "My name is Richard Pitchak, head of the Auror Division, Ministry of Magic. We're here to...see your nephew." Mrs. Dursley squeaked and pointed upstairs. The men immediately stomped up the stairs, causing Dudley to came out of his room, grasp his bottom, and slam the door quickly. The wizards exchanged curious glances.  
  
"Which is Potter's room?"  
  
Petunia nodded her head towards the door to the right of her son's room. They burst open the door to find an...empty room?  
  
"He's not here, sir," one of the younger Aurors called.  
  
"What?!?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Albus Dumbledore was siting in his office, thinking. He wasn't sure if he made the right decision in Harry's case. Sure, he just wanted to protect the Order. If word got out that the Order of the Phoenix was helping a suspected murderer, they would be even more un-welcome then they were now. On the other hand, sending the wizarding world's greatest asset and a 15- year old boy to Azkaban might not be the best outcome. The Headmaster sighed as two figures appeared in his fireplace.  
  
One was the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and the other was Richard Pitchak.  
  
"Anything go wrong?" questioned Dumbledore.  
  
"Wrong! Potter has disappeared!" shouted Fudge.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"You didn't have anything to do with this?" Pitchak asked suspiciously.  
  
"I haven't seen or spoken to Harry since he left school at the end of the term."  
  
Fudge sighed. "All of his things are gone. Someone must have tipped him off."  
  
"That and we found this." Pitchak pulled a piece of folded up parchment out of his pocket and handed it to Albus. Reading it, the wizened wizard slumped in his chair and whispered,  
  
"What have I done?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The group left Dumbledore's office and headed down to the Great Hall to tell the rest of the staff what had happened. Nobody noticed a small beatle on the windowsill. It flew down to the floor and turned into a woman. She picked up the parchment on the desk, grinned evilly, before transforming again and flying out the window.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next day's Headlines were clear.  
  
HARRY POTTER GONE MISSING!!!  
  
Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived and suspected in the murder of Cedric Diggory, has disappeared, writes Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet Reporter. Yesterday morning, Richard Pritchak, Head of the Auror's department, led a team to Potter's house in Surrey, only to find that he left sometime during the night. Potter's Aunt and Uncle, Petunia (Evans) Dursley and Vernon Dursley, say that their nephew had been there the night before and went up to his room after dinner for the evening.  
  
Potter, who is widely acclaimed for the defeat of the Dark Lord, You-Know- Who, is also believed to be delusional and highly dangerous. According to the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, Potter claimed at the end of the Triwizard Tournament that the Dark Lord had been reborn and had killed Diggory. Fudge also states 'these hallucinations he has run deeper than that. In Potter's third year, he claimed that the mass murderer, Sirius Black, was actually innocent.' This reporter also has usurped allegations that Potter has been in contact with Black for the past year.  
  
Pitchak says that chances are, someone tipped Potter off to his upcoming arrest and he fled. Either that, or he simply ran away. 'Truthfully, if Potter did run away, I wouldn't blame him. It must be awful growing up with these Muggles'. New sources state that Potter's relatives hated magic and mentally abused him, no doubt contributing to the mental state he is now in.  
  
Though, all of the contributing factors point to someone telling him to run. Especially if you add the note into the equation. It was found in Potter's bedroom, on the desk.  
  
Living risky, never scared,  
  
Wander closer to the edge  
  
Nothing valued think no fear,  
  
Always wondering why you're here  
  
All your purposes are gone,  
  
Nothing's right and nothing's wrong  
  
Nothing ventured, nothing gained,  
  
Feel no sorrow, feel no pain,  
  
Kiss me while I'm still alive  
  
Kill me while I kiss the sky  
  
Let me die on my own terms,  
  
Let me live and let me learn  
  
Now I'll follow my own way  
  
And I'll live on to another damn day  
  
Freedom carries sacrifice,  
  
Remember when this was my life  
  
Looking forward, not behind,  
  
Everybody's got to cross that line  
  
Free me now to give me a place,  
  
Keep me caged and free the beast  
  
Falling faster, time goes by,  
  
Fear is not seen through these eyes  
  
What there was will never be,  
  
Now I'm blind and cannot see  
  
Kiss me while I'm still alive  
  
Kill me while I kiss the sky  
  
Let me die on my own terms,  
  
Let me live and let me learn  
  
Now I'll follow my own way  
  
And I'll live on to another damn day  
  
Freedom carries sacrifice,  
  
Remember when this was my life  
  
Kiss me while I'm still alive  
  
Kill me while I kiss the sky  
  
Let me die on my own terms,  
  
Let me live and let me learn  
  
Now I'll follow my own way  
  
And I'll live on to another damn day  
  
Freedom carries sacrifice,  
  
Remember when this was my life*  
  
Dear World,  
  
It seems odd to start a letter that way, but I want everyone to know this. Nobody is perfect. I'm not perfect. I never was and never pretended to be. But, for some reason, that was never good enough for any of you. You held me up, on a pedestal, so I could set an example to follow and face all odds and protect the masses. And I fell off.  
  
There are many things that I'm not proud of. There are many things that I wish had turned out differently. A wise man once told me 'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.' So I know that I can't change the past. And I have to accept the consequences.  
  
You may or may not believe that [You-Know-Who] is back. You may think that I am insane, but, while that may be true, I want to warn you. The day will come when everyone must choose between what is right and what is easy. I hope all of you make the best choice.  
  
And I wish to tell you all good-bye. I'm leaving to a place where I don't have to be the Boy Who Lived and I probably won't be back for a long time, if ever. I have had many wonderful times in this world and I will never forget them. From my first steps into the Leaky Cauldron to playing Quidditch. I will miss it.  
  
You can't put the weight of the world on someone's shoulders, it will eventually crush them.  
  
See ya,  
  
Harry Potter  
  
Could Potter be telling the truth? Could he possibly be innocent? And is the Dark Lord really back? Only time will tell.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Fred and George Weasley read the morning's Daily Prophet in a subdued silence.  
  
"So that's it then," Fred said.  
  
"Yeah, he's gone," agreed George. They left the paper on the table for the rest of their family to find and went out for a walk.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Cho smiled down at the paper in her hands.  
  
"Where ever you are, Harry. Enjoy yourself. You deserve it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Neville listened to the ranting fire-conversation downstairs. He chuckled to himself. Harry could always stir up a room. He sat down to write the Boy Who Lived about the mess he was creating in the Ministry. Neville was sure Harry would enjoy it.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall struggled to keep straight faces as the Minister raved about Harry. Apparently, everything was going according to plan.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Remus was drafting up his new lesson plans for the year. He would be returning for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Then the news paper had arrived.  
  
Both him and Sirius smiled sadly over Harry's letter.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In another part of the world, a blond haired boy scanned the article. He handed it to his black-haired companion who smirked.  
  
"I think they got my point."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------  
  
Lyrics by Three Doors Down 


	5. 4 Offers

A/N: Before I continue this fic, there are a few things I need to work out. I began having practices on Tuesdays so I'm not all the way caught up with this Buffy season and a little shaky on the last. Here's how the timeline will go:  
  
This story will take place right after the musical episode. Giles and Tara already left, but Tara never died and Willow never went berserk. Xander and Anya are still engaged and Buffy and Spike are still kinda dating. Spike doesn't have a soul, although Buffy is working as a guidance counselor. Also, Willow never stopped using her magic.  
  
I realize this totally doesn't follow the show's path, but, as I haven't seen all the newer episodes, it's the best I can do.  
  
Thanks to litine; pheonixrising: BtVS = Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Ran; NotE; tobytdk; Silver Wolf; and Fage of Hyren: I know, it's extremely hard to write a bad Dumbledore.  
  
"...but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far - " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 9 'The Dark Mark' pg126, American Edition  
  
CH4: Offers  
  
~Sighing, he coaxed Hedwig into her cage and waited for the Portkey to activate. 11:50. 11:57. 12:00. In a swirl of lights and colors, Harry was lifted off his feet and transported far away from Privet Drive.~  
  
~[Draco] wrote a small note to his mother and snatched up the letter. The clock struck midnight and he disappeared.~  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
12:01pm, June 26th, 1995  
  
Harry Potter hit the ground with a thump, missing his footing when he landed and falling over Hedwig's cage. He heard a similar thumping noise behind and someone stifling their chuckles.  
  
"That was brilliant, Harry, but people do tend to stand on those things called feet," said a voice from above him. Harry rolled over and saw Draco standing above him with a grin on his face.  
  
"Ha, ha," Harry said sarcastically as Draco held out a hand and helped him up. "Thanks."  
  
"I thought it was a rather impressive landing. He didn't break anything." A new person cut in to their conversation. Turning around, Harry was surprised to see familiar red hair.  
  
"Bill?!?" And it was. Standing there, with an amused look on his face, was the oldest Weasley child.  
  
"Hello, Harry, Draco," he nodded in greeting. The two students were still slightly shocked, so Bill continued. "Are you just going to stand there or are you coming inside?" The teenagers finally noticed there surroundings. They were standing on the edge of a dark forest, in back of a small coffee house. Draco and Harry picked up their things and followed Bill inside.  
  
Once the group was settled at a small table in a corner of the shop, they went on to business.  
  
"I suppose you are wondering why we have met here?" Bill questioned. At seeing the boys' nods, he went on. "We needed to meet in a secluded location away from prying eyes. You can tell, this isn't exactly King's Cross." He took a sharp glance around at the other customers before continuing. "I have a small proposition for you two.  
  
"Now, have you ever heard about the Watchers' Council?" Draco nodded and Harry got a flashback to third year.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
DADA, April, 1993  
  
"Alright class, today we will be discussing vampires," Professor Lupin called out. "We will start with what exactly a vampire is and how to defend yourself against them.  
  
"Basically, a vampire is a person who is inhabited by part of a demon. It is said that the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human and mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed - infected - by the demon's soul. He bit another and another.... and so they walked the Earth, feeding. Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind.  
  
"But, as long as there have been vampires, there has been the Slayer. The Chosen One. She is born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires and stop their spread of evil. For years, she had to do this alone. Then, the Ministry of Magic got involved.  
  
"The Ministry was sick of having the wizarding population attacked by the menaces. So, they founded the Watchers' Council. Nowadays, each Slayer has their own Watcher, someone to train them their skills. And, the Council goes out and finds others that wish to fight demons and train them in the arts of Slaying. With more than one person fighting evil, it's easier to protect the masses from danger.  
  
"Would you all please turn your books to page....."  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
Harry pushed the fond memories from his head and nodded to Bill's question.  
  
"Good. The Council is aware of the return of You-Know-Who, mostly due to the increase of Dark activities they've been dealing with lately. So, they know of your innocence, Harry. And, well, Snape has an old acquaintance there who owes him a favor. He explained your situations to them and they have agreed to take you in and train you."  
  
"You mean, we are going to become vampire hunters?" Draco stuttered out.  
  
"Yes. This way, Harry can prepare for the upcoming fight against You-Know- Who, and if what Snape tells me is true, you may also have some problems with Death Eaters, Draco." Draco nodded sadly, but Harry had another question.  
  
"Isn't the Council part of the Ministry? Won't they be able to - " Harry started to ask when Bill cut him off.  
  
"The Watchers' Council is kind of like the Department of Mysteries. No one knows what they are doing. It's almost a whole other organization.  
  
"I hate to have to rush you with this decision, but I need to know now. If you don't want to join, I have been instructed to take you to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade where Remus and Sirius will check up on you."  
  
Draco and Harry looked at each other and, in unison, nodded their heads.  
  
"Of course we'll do it," said Draco.  
  
"Did you have any doubts?"  
  
"Alright then. We have a long journey ahead of us. We should arrive at the Council building tomorrow morning."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------  
  
The vampire explanation is from some episode or another of the show. I'm not sure which ones. 


	6. 5 Wouldn't You Like To Know

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I have had tons of homework and I have been packing for a trip I'm taking this weekend. And it's going to be the Trip From Hell!!! We are going to a small place in the New Hampshire/Maine area that has A) No computers, B) No cable, C) You have to get up early in the morning to turn on the water, just to have a hot shower at 10am (unless someone gets there before you), D) The nearest stores are three miles away. I can't drive so that means walking, E) Somehow, the sleeping arrangements were made and I got, if you can believe it, a cot in the DINING ROOM. Who sleeps in a dining room?......You get the idea, so I'll skip letters F through Z (and more if the alphabet was longer). But, that's not the worst part. I'll be surrounded by *gulp* my relatives. DUN DUN DUN!!!! If you don't hear from me in a while, I probably didn't make it out alive.  
  
Okay, I'm done being melodramatic. On to the Reviewers....Thanks to pheonixrising: You should be fine; Suicidaltoast: I'll try to make them longer from now on; Kou Da Cutie: Unfortunately, no rest for the weary. He'll have many more problems and adventures in the future; Ran: Thanks for that, I can never remember which episode is which; Jaina: Sorry, but no. When ever I try to right slash, it comes out sounding forced. And, there won't be that much romance in the story. At least, not now ;^) ; fan; Trixi Hellfire; jasmin; and SilverFang!!!  
  
CH5: Wouldn't you like to know  
  
January 13, 1996  
  
Harry Potter had been at the Watchers' Council for 6 months now. And it showed.  
  
But, before we get into that, it's flashback time. Cue the flashy lights and whooshy noises.  
  
***************************************************************************  
  
Bill led Harry and Draco through the twisting hallways of Le Coeur*, the Headquarters of the W.C. It had taken ages to get there: a lot of Flue Powder, tons of buses, and trains galore. But they were finally there.  
  
The group rounded the corner and there stood the door to a large office. Bill pushed his way inside and the boys followed. Sitting by a desk was a whole bunch of people.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Weasley," said the man behind the desk. He was very old and obviously the leader of the group. "Are these our new recruits?"  
  
"Yes, Mr. Travers," Bill turned to Draco and Harry. "Guys, this is Quentin Travers, Head Watcher. And, Travers, this is Draco Malfoy," Draco gave a small wave, "and Harry Potter." Harry nodded his head in greeting, uncomfortably aware of the ususal upward flick to his forehead.  
  
"If that is all, Mr. Weasley..." Travers went on, politely disguising his real message, 'Get out'.  
  
"Of course. I hope to hear from you soon, Harry. Take care, the both of you." And with that, Harry watched as the last link of his old life walked out the door.  
  
"Okay, trainees, on to business. First things first, does anyone here wish to train these two?" asked Travers, scanning the room. A person spoke from the shadows.  
  
"I'll take them on." A young women, possibly in her mid-twenties, stepped out. She had shoulder length auburn hair and blue eyes, and spoke with an American accent. Right now, she looked very intimidating.  
  
Travers looked hesitant, which Harry didn't take as a good sign. "If your sure Edge, but if..." Edge held out her hand to stop him.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of them." She strolled out of the room, motioning for her new students to follow. They complied.  
  
Again, the boys were led through a series of twists and turns they were sure they'd never remember. Finally, Edge opened a door on the side of the hall and they went inside. It was a library.  
  
Edge promptly fell into a chair with a sigh. "I thought we would never get out of there." She smiled at her trainees. "Sit down, sit down. No need for formalities here." Once they were seated, she went on. "Uggg, they are so stuffy. Sorry about that, but I needed to convince them I was best for this job. I'm afraid you got the wrong impression of me. Let's start over. I'm called Edge. It's a codename, you'll have to get some soon as well. And, why did I volunteer to train you? Simple, I couldn't have you stuck with Quentin or Ardesco**. They are the most pompous people I have ever met and would waste no time forcing a stick up your asses as well." She said this all very fast, reminding Harry of Hermione. But, he had to stop thinking like that, it hurt too much. "So, I guess we've got to get you some names."  
  
"How do we pick them?" Harry asked.  
  
"You don't. It's like, the wand picks the wizard." Edge walked over to a table near a window and picked up something. She put it in Draco's hand. "This is....well it doesn't have a name. I just call it the Choice Thingy." The 'Choice Thingy' was a small, smooth black rock. "You just hold it in your hand and the name comes to you."  
  
Draco sat starring at the rock. At last, he spoke. "Immolo." He looked up at Edge. "What's that mean?"  
  
"Slay. Your turn, Harry."  
  
Harry picked it up. Instantly, he felt a soft tingling in the back of his brain, repeating the same word over and over again. "Denicalias," he echoed.  
  
"Hmmm." His new mentor looked thoughtful. "'Releasing from death'. I suppose it fits." She grinned at them. "Now, on to the fun part. We begin your training tonight."  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
The weeks flew by after that. With Harry's lesson over the summer and the fencing lessons Lucius made Draco take, both were already quite ready for more difficult tactics. They learned the different ways to hurt or kill a vampire: stakes, sunlight, holy water, and crosses. And, soon, they moved on to the real world.  
  
Possibly the most vivid memory Harry had at Le Coeur were the first vampires he and his newfound friend slain.  
  
***************************************************************************  
  
"Im, on your left!" shouted Harry from the opposite side of the cemetery. He had been patrolling a little ways down when he had seen the attack. Now, he was running towards his hunting partner to help with this new threat.  
  
Draco did a right back kick and hit the vampire in the shoulder. "Thanks, Deni!" he called back. Harry barely had time to register if Draco was alright when the sound of dirt crunching was heard. Another vamp was rising.  
  
"Shit." Harry knocked this one back with a blow to the chest, but dropped the stake in doing so. And Draco did the same. Harry's vamp realized the hunter was now defenseless and crouched down for a final strike. Then, Harry had an idea.  
  
"Switch with me!" he yelled out. Draco nodded. They had practiced this millions of times with Edge.  
  
Harry jumped over the vamp near the ground, startling both of them. They didn't even notice Draco twist around to the other side. A few well place kicks disoriented them and Harry tossed Draco one of the retrieved stakes. Poof! the vamps were dust.  
  
Unfortunately, it wasn't all heroic and glorious. The momentum of driving the wood in to the vampires' hearts knocked the two Hunters into one another and down into the dirt. There was a clapping and chuckling noise coming from the tree were Edge sat watching them.  
  
***************************************************************************  
  
Luckily, they hadn't all gone that bad. Now, Immolo and Denicalias were names to fear in undead circles. And respected in alive ones.  
  
Which brings us back to where we left off. Harry sat in his office, filing away some reports he was working on. No longer did he resemble the scrawny kid from Hogwarts. He was 5'10'' and more muscular. Not the wrestler- bulging deal, but more solid at least. His hair was spiked and tipped dark blue. Draco had found a potion in the library that would fix eyesight, so Harry was also lacking his glasses. Top that with a fang earing a la Bill Weasley (except Harry had a vampire fang instead of a dragon) and the fact he dressed mostly in black or dark clothing.....it made him fit the part well.  
  
Harry left his office. Edge had called him to her study, said she had something important to tell him. And, with Edge, that could mean anything from the end of the world to she broke a nail. The later had happened before.  
  
The Hunter knocked on his mentor's room and went inside. Edge was sitting there with her newest recruit, Flamma***, or Flame for short. Harry had only spoken with Flame a few times, but had a favorable opinion of the young girl. They both looked up when he entered.  
  
"Hey, Deni," greeted Edge. "I have something to tell you."  
  
"Really, what?" Harry asked.  
  
"Guess." Harry sighed. 'Sometimes, she has the mentality of a five year old.'  
  
"Just tell him," urged Flame.  
  
Smiling, Edge threw something down on the table. Harry picked it up. It was a copy of the Daily Prophet. His heart almost stopped at the headlines.....  
  
PETTIGREW FOUND ALIVE WITH STARTLING REVELATIONS  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
January 12, 1996, British Ministry of Magic, Courtroom 3  
  
"We have been brought here today to listen to the testimonies of the prisoners from the Starlet Raid," Judge Milton addressed the room. "You have all heard the details of that attack yesterday from the eyes witnesses. We need to determine the motivations and causes of that incident as well as if it was indeed Death Eaters who led it." He turned to an Auror standing by one of the doors. "Bring in the first prisoner."  
  
Two Dementors swept into the room holding a middle-aged balding man. He was strapped into a chair.  
  
"Administer the Veritaserum." After the prisoner downed the powerful truth potion, the questioning began.  
  
"First," Miss Ranan, a lawyer from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, began, "What is your name?" "Peter Pettigrew," the man droned. There were gasps all across the room.  
  
"How is that possible? I thought Peter Pettigrew was dead?" Ranan stuttered out.  
  
"That's because I faked my own death."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"So I wouldn't be killed or sent to Azkaban."  
  
"What did you do that deserved either of those?"  
  
"I sold the Potters out to the Dark Lord." Shouts of outrage and disbelief rang in the room until the judge silenced them.  
  
"I think we need to start at the beginning." Prodded by many questions from Ranan, Pettigrew explained everything: being an illegal Animagus, being the Secret Keeper, framing Sirius. Finally, they got on to questioning about the attack.  
  
"Who ordered the attack?" Ranan started again. She was very shaken by what she had already heard.  
  
"The Dark Lord."  
  
That is not what she wanted to hear. "You Know Who is gone."  
  
"He came back last June."  
  
"How?"  
  
"A potion: flesh, blood, and bone."  
  
"Whose flesh, blood, and bone?"  
  
"My hand," Peter extended his new silver hand, "his father's bone, and Potter's blood."  
  
"Harry Potter?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So he was telling the truth after all," she mumbled under her breath. Then she thought of something else. "So, do you now what happened to Cedric Diggory?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, what happened?"  
  
"I killed him on my masters orders." That was the last straw for the court. It went into disarray.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Watchers' Council, January 13, 1996  
  
"Is this for real?" Harry asked. When Edge nodded, he let out a whoop of happiness and started jumping around the room. Then Draco walked in.  
  
"What's all this?" he asked. "I can hear you down the hall." Harry threw him the paper. A small grin spread across Draco's face. "So what now?"  
  
"Hmmm?" Harry looked over from where he was dancing with Flame, who was laughing.  
  
"What now? Are you going back?"  
  
"Ummm, let me think." He scrunched up his forehead. "How about, no. But I do need to see Sirius and the gang."  
  
"Good luck. With all that's going on, he'll probably be booked for the next month."  
  
"I think I'll be able to arrange it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Courtroom 3, January 13  
  
"Sirius Andrew Black. We, the jury, find you not guilty of all crimes brought against you. Furthermore, you have been cleared off all previous charges and will receive a penitence for 12 years in Azkaban prison. We are sorry for all the pain this has caused you."  
  
Sirius was smiling from ear to ear. He was free! Finally!  
  
"On another note, we also drop the charges against Harry James Potter and hope that he will be returning soon. And, Mr. Black, pending his return, you will be made his full legal guardian as wished by James and Lily Potter in their will." Before the jury member could continue, an deep red owl swooped in and dropped a letter in front of Sirius. He opened it and grinned more.  
  
"Who's it from, Sirius?" Remus called from a few rows behind.  
  
"Harry."  
  
"What's it say?"  
  
"I think we'd all like to hear that," said Judge Milton. Sirius stood and read out:  
  
Congratulations, Padfoot!  
  
The great Overdog  
  
The heavenly beast  
  
With a star in one eye,  
  
Gives a leap in the east.  
  
He dances upright  
  
All the way to the west  
  
And never once drops  
  
On his forefeet to rest.  
  
I'm a poor underdog,  
  
But tonight I will bark  
  
With the great Overdog  
  
That romps through the dark.****  
  
Thanks for always believing in me. The Marauders will meet again soon.  
  
Harry  
  
"What does that mean?" asked Miss Ranan.  
  
Sirius smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
* = The Heart in French  
  
** = Born of Fire in Latin  
  
*** = Lightning in Latin  
  
**** = 'Canis Major', Complete Poems of Robert Frost, pg 331 


	7. 6 In the Forest of the Night

A/N: I just watched Moulin Rouge and if Harry were a real person, I think he would be a lot like Christian. I mean, if he was older and all that, but it just seems to fit. Not in this story though, my DDNT Harry is too bitter. Okay, I'm off my little tangent now.

There will be more updates over the next week, which should make everyone happy. It's mostly due to the fact final exams are coming up and I won't have much time to post from June 9th to June 23. Also, the week of the 16- 20 I'm going to be in a play! We have rehearsals every night that week and the shows themselves are on June 21 and 22. Then it'll be summer and I can write whenever I want. Yay!

Thanks to litine; Ran: I love irony; Jewelclaw Lady of Wind; Drama Queen Me: Yeah, but you can never be too careful ;) pheonixrising: I may include flashbacks of Harry's training as I get into the story. We'll see; Teibairn; and BlackDragon!

Oh, and the chapter title is from the book of the same name by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. If you haven't read any of her stuff you should. They're great!

CH6: In the Forest of the Night

"Are you sure you understood the note correctly?" Severus sneered. The group - consisting of Severus, Sirius, Remus, Minerva, Cho, Fred, George, and Neville - were congregating in the Forbidden Forest. Trust me, they were not happy.

Cho shivered. "It's so creepy in here!" She kept glancing around as if something would pop out at them. "If Harry didn't want to meet here, I swear I'll hex you in so many ways you - " But she was cut-off.

"Come on, give my godfather a little credit will you. His brain is not entirely made of mush," a voice said from the shadows. The person said voice came from jumped out of the trees in front of them. It was Harry.

"Good to see you kid," Sirius said, hugging the hunter. He was followed by Minerva, Remus, and Cho, and handshakes from the rest.

"How have you been?" asked Minerva after greetings were exchanged.

"Pretty good. And congrats, Padfoot!" Harry replied. Sirius had a big, goofy grin on his face.

"Thanks! And you, too."

"Oh, " Harry turned to the twins. "Good job on that last Quidditch match. Neville wrote me. 380-0!"

"I don't want to talk about that! It was embarrassing!" complained Cho. "We'll never live it down!"

"She still a bit touchy about that one," whispered Fred conspiratorially. Cho whopped him on the head.

"Enough Quidditch talk," George interjected. "Tell us what you've been doing."

"You've certainly changed," Neville added, eyeing Harry's new ensemble.

So they did. Harry told them all about his life at Le Couer, at least what he could tell them. And the Hogwarts members filled him in on everything that had happened already this year(what Nev hadn't written in his letters). Harry especially enjoyed hearing about the twins pranks.

"Let me get this straight, y-you filled Severus's office with-with sheep!" Harry choked out. At the twins nod, he let out a fresh wave of laughter.

Severus was shaking his head. "Alright, alright, go ahead and laugh."

"I'm going to have to tell Draco and Edge about this one."

Severus opened his mouth to protest, but Remus changed the subject. "It sounds like you're having a good time there."

"It's the best."

"You're not coming back, are you," Minerva stated.

"No. At least, not yet," Harry responded. "I've got a good thing going on. And I don't know if I could do it all again." The Transfiguration professor shot him an understanding look.

"We figured as much. But I don't think the rest of the world did."

"Well, everyone lives with disappointment sometime."

"How are you going to tell them?" asked Neville, quietly.

"I'll think of something. We should probably cut this meeting off. Most of you have classes tomorrow and I..." He trailed off.

"You what?"

"I'm going out on assignment. I'm not sure where exactly, but Edge hinted we may be leaving England."

"Take care of yourself," Sirius said, echoed by the rest. With a final goodbye, Harry melted back into the shadows.

* * *

The next day, another letter appeared in the Daily Prophet.

It's me again. I'm sure all of you have better things to be doing than reading what a slightly cynical, 15-year old boy wrote, so I'll try to make it short.

Yesterday was my godfather, Sirius Black's, trial. And I'm sure it had some startling conclusions for you all. As you all are aware by now You Know Who is alive and as evil as ever, Peter Pettigrew is alive as well, and I didn't kill Cedric.

Well, that's all fine and dandy, but there is more you need to know.

You need to hear the story of the man who spent 12 years in Azkaban for supposedly betraying and killing his best friends. You can apologize all you want for the pain and anguish you caused him, but you need to find out how he felt.

You need to hear about the man whose entire world was shattered on a day everyone was celebrating. A day when he lost all he cared for - his friends, his family. And how he didn't have much to begin with since he was shunned for being what he was.

And, hell, you even need to hear about the boy who lost his parents, was sent to a family who didn't care for him, and was outcast from society for trying to do what was right.

Before you can even hope to defeat darkness, you need to understand the repercussions. You need to listen to the stories, hear from the mouths of the survivors themselves. So many people had their worlds torn apart all those years ago. You have to fight so it won't happen again.

If you have noticed, I'm saying 'you'. That's because this isn't my war anymore. I've found my own cause to fight for. You have to do this one on your own.

It's been a long, hard...14 years for me. And before I finish my time in your world, there are a few things I need to say.

To the people who believed in me:

Sirius - You finally got your wish. I know we always wanted to be able to be an actual family, but I don't see that happening right now. But I do want you to now, no matter how things turned out, you are a great godfather.

Remus Lupin - Take care, Moony! I still owe you for teaching me the Patronus charm. I'm going to find a way to pay you back for that. Oh, and make sure you keep teaching. You're the best DADA professor I ever had!

Minerva McGonagall - Bye, Min, and stop being so strict all the time. I know you can smile. It's not just a myth. It's also okay to break the rules sometimes. Or at least severely bend them. Remember a certain first year Seeker...(I'll stop now since I know you'll get back at me for everything I say next time I see you. I don't fancy spending anytime as a pincushion or a chair!)

Severus Snape - Thank you, Severus, for getting me my new job. You know what I'm talking about. I know we never got along (it must have been hard for you to help me) and most people think you're a greasy git, but you're not that bad. And, Draco says hello.

Neville Longbottom - Nev, you've been a good friend to me the past six months and I wish we could have hung out more before. Make sure you write!

Cho Chang - Thanks for letting me unload on you what happened that night and for being there for me. I know you, of all people, understand. Thanks again.

Fred, George, and Bill Weasley - You guys are like big brothers to me. Thanks for watching my back. And George, Fred, if I hear that you are not inventing things, I'll personally come and curse you. Keep on pranking!

Everyone else:

Albus Dumbledore - You always did look out for me. I guess I always knew that wouldn't last. But it still hurt. I was so dependant on that constant, the fact you were always one step ahead of whatever problems there were, I had a hard time without it. You did teach me a valuable lesson though, nothing is forever.

Ron Weasley - Somehow, I wasn't surprised when you turned your back on me. You were never the type of person to take the hard route. Or believe in their friends.

Hermione Granger - I think you abandoning me hit the hardest. You were my best friend, the only person who believed I didn't put my name in the Cup, the one who cheered me on at Quidditch matches and cheered me up when something bad happened. The one who helped me year after year, in school work and fighting evil. Even saving Sirius! You captured Rita Skeeter in a jar when she wrote all those fake articles, for heaven sake! I'll miss that Hermione.

And, Minister Fudge, I heard that you told Minerva the Dark Lord would be back 'when pigs flew'. Guess what? It's migrating season.

Alright, this was a little longer than I wanted, but what am I going to do. Everything needed to be said (well, most of it).

Good luck,

Harry Potter

* * *

All over the country, witches and wizards read the article. It wasn't pleasant when they realized they lost their hero. And realized the mistakes they made.

* * *

At Le Couer

Harry, Draco, Edge, and Flame walked along the halls of the Council building. The three apprentices were dressed in Muggle clothing on Edge's request. She had said that 'they didn't want to stand out'.

The group reached Quentin's office where they'd be briefed as to their new assignment. The settled into chairs in front of the Head Watcher's desk.

"We are short of help in one of our more active zones," Travers began. "The demonic activity rate has been going up for weeks, the Slayer can't handle it all." Recognition dawned on the faces of the three young Vampire Hunters.

"You mean - " Draco started, but Edge butted in.

"Yup," she grinned. "You're headed of to Sunnydale, California. Home of the Hellmouth."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------

It's means he wrote Voldemort's proper name, but I don't think they'd actually print that.


	8. 7 Owls

A/N: Thanks to potter-man; BlackDragon: It won't be, I promise that. And, he will keep in touch; TatraMegami; CR: I actually missed the last episode! I had practice and I haven't gotten to see a good chunk of the last season yet. I'll have to wait for the reruns; AtieJen: Some pairing ideas, but you'll have to wait and see. And, as I told someone who asked before, it won't be slash. I'm terrible at writing slash, it always comes out sounding forced; Ran; ficfan; Lukaret; pheonixrising: Yup; LoonyLoopyLisa; Trixi Hellfire; anon; and athenakitty!  
  
CH7: Owls  
  
Sunnydale, California, January 14, 1996  
  
"Giles, are you here?" Buffy called out as she entered the Magic Shop.  
  
"I'll be out in a bit," he hollered from the back room.  
  
Buffy threw her bag down on the table and sighed. She was worried about her Watcher these days. Ever since his long trip in England - doing God Knows What, he still hadn't told anyone -, he had been spending an excessive amount of time reading. Not the normal 'I'm Giles, the Book Freak' reading, but really getting absorbed in research. And he wouldn't divulge why.  
  
"How was work toda-," Giles began when he emerged from his makeshift office, but he was cut off. That very second, a large, amber owl soared through the open window. It landed on Buffy's bag and looked up expectantly.  
  
"That's an owl," Buffy said.  
  
"Thank you for clarifying that." Giles went over to the bird and pulled something of his leg. A small roll of parchment. Parchment?!? Who wrote on parchment in - I don't know - this century?  
  
"What's it doing?" she asked quietly as Giles skimmed the note. His forehead crinkled in thought before turning to Buffy.  
  
"Get everyone here," he said shortly. "There is something we need to discuss."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
An hour later found the Scoobie gang - Buffy, Giles, Dawn, Willow, Xander, Anya, and Spike - in varying degrees of shock.  
  
"An owl?" Xander asked for what had to be the hundreth time this discussion.  
  
"Yes, an owl. It's quite common in their world," responded Giles exasperated.  
  
'Their world,' Buffy thought. 'They have a whole other world. How could we not have known that?'  
  
Willow on the other hand, was taking this in stride. After all, she was a witch herself, even if it was a different kind. "This will be great! Think of how cool it will be, all the things they can tell us."  
  
Xander was still not coping. "Could you repeat everything again? In smaller words?"  
  
Giles sighed. "Magic is real. There are witches and wizards. They have a whole world. They use wands. They deliver mail by owls. Is that clear enough for you?"  
  
"I get the whole, magic is real part. I mean, Will's a witch. What's the difference?"  
  
"Willow is a Wiccan," Giles explained. "Wizards and Witches use wands - it's basically something that channels power."  
  
"This is weird."  
  
"Anyway," Anya said. "What I don't get is what the letter is all about. I'm going to assume the Council is the one writing to you."  
  
"What, you knew about all this?" Xander asked.  
  
"Of course. I've lived along time. There was this one Tasmanian Wizard who tried to put a balding hex on me. He didn't know what hit him."  
  
"Alright," Buffy cut in. "What does she mean 'the Council'."  
  
"The Watchers' Council, Buffy," Giles said. "It's a branch of the Ministry of Magic, although they do have quite a few Muggles - non magical people - working for them." He pulled the letter out of his pocket. "And it seems they are sending reinforcements."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The Council is sending three of their best vampire hunters here because, I assume, of the strange increase of mystical activity going on lately."  
  
"What's a vampire hunter?" Dawn asked. "I mean, I thought that there was just one Slayer?"  
  
"A vampire hunter is, most usually, a witch or wizard who dedicates their life to the fight against demons. There is no way that one person can do this job by themselves - they have to protect the whole world. Hunters help."  
  
"So who are they sending," asked Spike.  
  
"Flamma, Immolo, and Denicalias. I met them a few months ago, they seemed nice enough, considering."  
  
"Considering? Considering wha - " Dawn started, but Spike cut her off.  
  
"You're joking! I've heard about them, bloody scary the stories."  
  
"You've got to put it in their perspective. You know what is happening in the Magical world right now," Giles replied.  
  
"Again, what?" questioned Dawn.  
  
"Well, the is a war going on." Everyone looked at him expectantly and Giles sighed. "I suppose it starts with a man named Lord Voldemort...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry, Draco, and Flame (whose, they found out, real name was Alexandra) carried their bags through Sunnydale airport. Draco was still marveling over what Muggles could come up with and Alex was chuckling behind him. As she stepped out to the curb to hail a taxi, Harry looked around at their surroundings.  
  
'So this is Sunnydale,' he thought. 'Our new home. I hope it turns out better than the last one.'  
  
It was a new start for everyone. And it may be just what they needed.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------  
  
Sorry for such a short chapter, but I thought it should end there. More soon. 


	9. 8 First Impressions Can Be Misleading

A/N: I'm really sorry for the delay everyone! It's been a much busier summer than I anticipated.  
  
As for this story, I've just seen the last season of Buffy in total and the story I have planned out won't fit what happened at all. So, go back to....what was it....chapter 4 or 5, I'm not sure which, and see the background that I'm working with.  
  
I guess that makes this story AU in both worlds. Wow.  
  
Thanks to pheonixrising; Jess; athenakitty: I'm giving double thanks to you for giving me an idea with one of your questions!; amythest; Destruxion; anon; Isabeau; jason: What do you mean?; ficfan; AnDrEwSrObOt: I wouldn't go that far, but thanks!; clingon87; Sakura Potter; and Skysong!  
  
^..........^ = letters  
  
CH8: First Impressions Can Be Misleading  
  
The Summer's House, Sunnydale, California  
  
"So, where are they going to stay?" Buffy asked. She was still slightly shocked by the revelation that their was a war going on right under their noses that no one noticed. 'Though, I guess it's kinda like what I do everyday.'  
  
"Well...." Giles looked a bit flustered. "I was hoping they could stay here."  
  
"What?!?"  
  
"Now here me out..." But Buffy was already launching into a verbal tirade.  
  
"Here? Where here?!? This house is already full! Willow is upstairs in my mother's room, Dawn in hers, and me in mine, and Spike is downstairs....I'm not renting out my couch, I don't care if they are here to help!"  
  
"Calm down! I was thinking we'd fix up the attic, if you don't mind giving up your precious couch for a few days," he finished sarcastically. Buffy sat down, admonished.  
  
"Alright," she said in a small voice, then cleared her throat. "When are they getting here anyway?"  
  
As if cued by her thoughts, there was a knock on the front door.  
  
"Now."  
  
"There really isn't much of a warning from that council, is there?" Xander quipped.  
  
"I'll get it!" Dawn raced to the front door to admit the newest members of the gang.  
  
"Hello," a dark-haired man greeted. "You must be Dawn, right?"  
  
She nodded. "Come in, come in. We've been expecting you."  
  
The group of three followed her into the living room, where they were immediately welcomed by Buffy.  
  
"Hi, I'm Buffy Summers. You're the wizards sent here by the council, right?"  
  
"Right. It's nice to meet you Miss Summers. I'm Immolo," a man with almost white blond stepped forward and shook her hand. "This is Flamma" he motioned to a girl with deep red hair, "and Denicalias."  
  
"A pleasure." She pointed out each of her friends in turn. "These are my best friends, Xander and Willow, my boyfriend, Spike, and you've already met my sister, Dawn."  
  
The dark man spoke up. "And he is?" He looked over at Giles.  
  
"You - you don't know him?" asked Willow.  
  
"I don't believe so." Flamma said.  
  
"That's funny," said Giles. "Because I met the three of you on a trip to England a little over a month ago." He took a threatening step forward. "Who - "  
  
He was cut off when the door burst open and the real hunters burst in.  
  
The fake-Denicalias took a step towards the real one, an evil smile forming that look very out of place. "Potter," he spat. The man whipped out his wand, followed closely by his comrades.....  
  
.......But, before he could do anything, 'Potter' had sliced his wand-arm off with a sword that appeared from nowhere.  
  
"Anyone else?" he asked. Needless to say, the other imposters quickly surrendered their wands as well.  
  
"Polyjuice Potion," Harry muttered under his breath. He turned towards the captives. "Now, to what do we owe - " At that moment, the potion wore off. "Macnair! What a pleasant surprise! What brings here to Sunnydale?"  
  
"Go to Hell, Potter," Macnair grumbled out, still trying to clutch where his arm just was.  
  
"Tut, tut, that's not very nice. I just want to ask you a few questions before you start.....'clotting'. Like, how you knew where we were? Or why Voldemort would send some of his goons after us? After all, we're not even fighting him anymore."  
  
A female Death Eater spoke up from the floor with a smirk. "That's what you think." Draco cast a quick Stunning Charm on the three prisoners as Harry turned towards the Scoobie Gang.  
  
"Um...." He looked sheepish. "Sorry about the rug."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
^ Dear Harry,  
  
How are you? And, better yet, where are you? I think I have an idea, but.......more on that later.  
  
You'll have to write back soon. Sirius is dying to hear from you. I'm sure he'll have a letter to send with this one. I'll have to talk to him about that.  
  
Everyone here is fine. Cho sends here love and wants you to be much more careful than you have been. She thinks you take too many unnecessary risks. I think she becoming too mothering, but don't tell her I said that.  
  
Apparently, she was reading over my shoulder and now I'm bruising. Make a note: never insult a Quidditch player, especially if it's her time of the month.  
  
Ouch!!!  
  
Anyway, she also wants to know if you can help her with her Defense project; it's on vampires and she wants to know if you have any stories she can include or extra information on the undead.  
  
Fred and George want you to know that business is booming. They have just invented a new product called 'Skiving Snackboxes'. People are dropping like flies out of Potions classes. Snape is not too happy. Though, I think he should be. He really doesn't seem to like children.  
  
Professor Lupin says 'hello'. And, he wants me to add that he is 'putting the Map to good use again.' Care to explain what he means; he won't tell me.  
  
Oh! You should have seen the looks on some of the students faces after reading your letter in the Prophet. Hilarious! Ron turned green!  
  
There has been something wrong with Ron lately. He's not acting like himself at all. He's become a self-centered egotistical prat. Natalie McDonald, our Seeker, was in an accident last week, so he has taken over her spot. He can barely play, but everyone was afraid to try out against him because of all of his bragging. It's unbearable. There goes the Cup.  
  
But, back to what happened after your letter. Hermione locked herself in the dorms for three days and still won't talk to anyone. I know your going to feel awful that she's like this, but remember what she did to you.  
  
I've got to get going. Transfiguration starts in a few minutes. Before I forget, Professor McGonagall says hello and take care, too. Hope I'm not forgetting anyone else.  
  
Write back soon,  
  
Neville  
  
P.S. You wouldn't happen to be in California, USA, would you? Because there was this article about some of Voldemort's inner circle being caught there and it just seemed to scream 'Harry Potter'........^  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------  
  
As you can see, I've decided that I will now end each chapter with either a letter or an interlude, so we will know what is going on back in England.  
  
Uggg, stupid Internet! I've been trying to update this story for days now and the site won't let me do anything on it. Even read things! Curse you Fanfiction.Net! Unless that makes you work even less. Then, I take it back! 


	10. 9 Storytelling

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers......amythest; pheonixrising; AnDrEwSrObOt: Buffy/Spike is the best! I was so sad when he died!; ceres-goddess17; Erynwen; Draconias; athenakitty; and Slim5!!!  
  
And to everyone who asked about the 'Ron-Thing' = It will be explained in the next chapter, just be patient.  
  
************ = flashback  
  
CH9: Storytelling  
  
"Harry!" exclaimed Alex.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why blue?!?"  
  
"What's wrong with blue?"  
  
"I hate blue!"  
  
"I happen to like blue. It's very......serene."  
  
"Well, I don't. Change it back."  
  
The trio of hunters were in the attic of Buffy's Californian home, trying to redecorate it. After all, it was suppose to be their home for who knows how long, it couldn't stay the way it currently was - dusty and cobwebby and dark. But they were having a few minor disagreements on what color to charm the room.  
  
"How about green?" Draco suggested. "With silver accents."  
  
"Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin," joked Harry.  
  
"Better than red and gold."  
  
"Boys," Alex cut in. "What about yellow?"  
  
"Yellow?!?" The boys wore disgusted expressions.  
  
"Just a thought."  
  
"Why don't you just paint the whole thing black and call it a day," Dawn asked as she climbed up the ladder. "By the way, lunch is ready."  
  
"You know, she might have a good idea with the black-thing," Harry pondered. "We'd never have to clean - you can't see dirt in a black room."  
  
Alex smacked him. "We are not painting it black."  
  
"Dominatrix," Draco coughed. Alex glared at him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In another part of Sunnydale, a darker evil than Draco, Alex, and Harry's horrid decorating was brewing.  
  
"And what about the Associates? Have you any word from them yet?" A cold, deep voice was echoing around the underground chamber, it's owner concealed in the shadows.  
  
"No, sir. But the Others - ." A newly bitten vampire stood by the door, trembling.  
  
"Yes, yes," the voice said. "But they are not our concern right now."  
  
"Of course, sir."  
  
"We will need strong allies if this is going to work, Rajasthan."  
  
"I know, sir," the vampire, Rajasthan, answered.  
  
"Our day is coming. Soon the blood of innocents will flow freely down the streets for us to feed. Soon. Soon they will be ours."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, what's it like?" Dawn asked.  
  
Alex, who was picking at a plate of macaroni across the table from her, looked up. "What's what like?"  
  
"You know, being a vampire hunter? It's different than a Slayer, right?"  
  
"Right. We don't get the whole super-strength thing. The training is awful."  
  
"It can't be that bad."  
  
"Picture this: you wake up at four in the morning, and get a five minute, usually cold shower and a rice-cake for breakfast. Then you run for three hours and then do physical fitness training until noon. A salad for lunch, before weapons training. If you're a muggle (non-magical person) than that last all the way to dinner, the only human meal of the day. If you're magical, then you have to work on curses, hexes, charms, dueling, transfiguration, etc. Then after diner, there is potions and herbology - everyone can do those, magical or muggle, until ten. Then, and only then, do you have free time. It's lights out at eleven, though, believe me, most just conk out at ten."  
  
"Sounds lovely."  
  
"Oh, it's worth it when you start going out on assignment."  
  
"What are the missions like?"  
  
"Well..." Alex mumbled something to herself.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"I said, this is my first assignment."  
  
Dawn's reply was interrupted as Harry and Draco came in, trying to explain the basics of Quidditch to Spike and a very confused Xander.  
  
"You actually fly on broomsticks?" asked Xander doing strange hand motions to illustrate what was suppose to be a wizard zooming around. He was actually just waving his fingers exuberantly.  
  
"Hey, Draco?" Dawn broke in to address the wizard closest to her. "You and Harry have been on missions right? I mean, Spike mentioned hearing about you."  
  
"Really?" The blond boy looked at the bleached vampire.  
  
"Just a rumor," Spike said. "You know, about Wellington....."  
  
"What happened in Wellington?" asked Dawn.  
  
"I've never heard this story either," said Alex.  
  
"Well," Draco began. "You want to take this one, Harry?"  
  
Harry sighed. "Alright. It all started when we were called to Ardesco's office. He said it was suppose to be a routine hunt. So we went. It was an old cemetery, just on the edge of town......."  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
December 24th, 1995  
  
"It's bloody cold out here," Draco shivered. He pulled his coat around him tighter as he and Harry sat at the base of an old oak tree, surrounded by three feet of snow, going stir-crazy. They were suppose to be staking out the entrance of an active nest of bloodsuckers, but nothing was happening. None of them had gone in or out and the pair had begun to suspect that this was some sort of holiday prank revenge. They still swore they hadn't meant to 'spill' that bottle of firewhisky into Ardesco's coffee pot. "And boring. Nothing is going on!"  
  
Harry looked up at the sky. "Maybe we are suppose to be on the lookout for Father Christmas."  
  
"Father Christmas is not a vampire."  
  
"Do you know him personally?"  
  
"No....."  
  
"Then how do you know he's not a vampire?"  
  
"I just do!"  
  
"Fine, but when reindeer with fangs swoop down on us, I'm going to say 'I told you so'."  
  
"You are driving me insane!" Draco looked over at his friend, baffled as to how he could be reclining so comfortably in the negative temperatures. "And how is it that you're not freezing?"  
  
"Warming Charm," was the simple reply.  
  
"You couldn't have mentioned that two hours ago - "  
  
**************************************************************************  
  
"Are you going to get to the point anytime soon?" Spike asked. Harry looked put-out.  
  
"Fine, fine. Anyway, we're sitting out there, now both fully warm (Draco shot him a glare), for a few more hours. It was snowing again when........"  
  
After a minutes silence, Dawn prompted, "When what?"  
  
"We realized we had fallen asleep."  
  
**************************************************************************  
  
"I can't believe you didn't wake me up!" exclaimed Draco.  
  
"How could I have woken you up when I was asleep," Harry pointed out.  
  
Draco ignored him. "Edge is going to have a field day with this. We'll never live it down!"  
  
"Maybe we can just forget to mention this part."  
  
"There's just one problem with that. Now we don't know if there are any vampire's in there or if it's been abandoned."  
  
"Then we'll wait until sunrise and then see if anybody's home."  
  
"Do you really want to spend your Christmas Eve turning into a human popsicle? These charms only last so long, Deni, and it takes too much energy to keep recasting them......"  
  
"Do you have a better - " Harry stopped. "Did you hear that?"  
  
There was a strange crunching noise - the sound of a boot on snow.  
  
"It's coming from over there." Draco whispered, pointing towards the small catacomb a few feet away from them. Whoever was out walking was on the other side.  
  
"We can't see from here. I'm going to go up and see what I can find out." He motioned to the tree branches above them and started climbing. Draco listened closely, only to catch Harry's mumbled "Oh shit."  
  
"What's going on?" Receiving no answer, Draco sighed and climbed up into the trees as well.  
  
Harry was perched about twenty feet up, staring through the leaves with a look of anxiety on his face. Draco followed his gaze and his breath stopped short.  
  
Gathered by the wall of the building were about thirty vampires. They seemed to be in the middle of some sort of meeting.  
  
"Can you hear what they are saying?" Harry asked. Draco shook his head. "Think we should go closer?"  
  
"Are you nuts?" Draco hissed fiercely.  
  
"That's up for debate."  
  
"There is a reason why you were made a Gryffindor and I was a Slytherin, you know."  
  
Echoing what he had started to say earlier, Harry replied, "Do you have a better idea?"  
  
At the lack of response, Harry pushed forward, leaving Draco to reluctantly follow behind, muttering about 'moronic Gryffindor bravery'.  
  
"Shut up, Im!" They were now directly above the corrugation.  
  
Draco gulped and their was a load creaking noise. "What was that?" he whispered, just as the branch fell out from beneath them. ************************************************************************  
  
"You fell out of a tree?" Everyone jumped as Buffy's voice came from the doorway where she and Willow were standing. They hadn't heard them come in.  
  
"Unfortunately," said Draco.  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said one of the vamps. Harry looked up at him, smiling brightly.  
  
"Hello. Do you think we could borrow a cup of sugar?" Someone, or something, hauled him up from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. "I'll take that as a no."  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
The entire room was staring at him.  
  
"Sugar?" Xander asked, disbelievingly. "You didn't really ask for sugar, did you?"  
  
"He did," Draco murmured.  
  
"Hey," Harry defended. "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort*."  
  
"Just get on with the story."  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
"Looks like we've got ourselves a couple of spies, Kahar" a member of the crowd called out.  
  
"Not spies," said Kahar, the vampire from before. He eyed the stakes on their belts. "Hunters." He let out a deep chuckle. "Not very good ones apparently."  
  
"Hey! We don't go around saying that you aren't very good bloodsucking demons do we?" Harry said.  
  
"Deni, Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titilandus," Draco said wearily.  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
"Huh?" asked Buffy.  
  
"It's Latin," Anya said. She had slipped in sometime during the confrontation/sugar part. Everyone looked at her. "Well I don't know what it means."  
  
"Never tickle a sleeping dragon," explained Alex. "It's the motto of Hogwarts."  
  
"Cool!" Dawn exclaimed. she turned to Draco. "So your name means Dragon?"  
  
Draco nodded. "And don't tickle me."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"So you went to Hogwarts?" Kahar.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes theatrically to Draco. "And I'm the one who is screwing this up?"  
  
"Shut up," said Draco.  
  
"And, to answer your question, Kahar, is it?" Harry asked. "No we aren't from Hogwarts, not anymore."  
  
"Were you," Kahar gasped. "Expelled?" There were a few laughs from the crowd.  
  
"Technically, no," replied Draco.  
  
"I can only think of one person who should have been expelled from Hogwarts, but 'technically' wasn't."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Of course. It was all over the papers you know."  
  
**************************************************************************  
  
"Do the undead actually read newspapers?" Xander wondered.  
  
"Great minds think alike," Draco said under his breath.  
  
"Yes we do!" said Spike indignantly. "That's stereotyping, you know!"  
  
"Quiet! I want to hear what happens next," snapped Dawn.  
  
**************************************************************************  
  
"Do the undead actually read newspapers?" Draco wondered.  
  
************************************************************************* "That's very creepy, " Willow said.  
  
"Maybe they share a brain!" said Alex.  
  
"It would explain a lot," Harry said. "Like why Draco always seems to only be using half of his."  
  
There was silence for a few seconds. Then -  
  
"Hey!"  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Yes we do!" Kahar said, indignantly. "That's stereotyping, you know!"  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Again," said Willow. "Very creepy."  
  
"Is he a cousin of yours?" Buffy asked her boyfriend.  
  
"Let's just listen to what happens next," Anya said.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
"Sorry," said Draco sarcastically.  
  
"Somebody's PMSing today," muttered Harry.  
  
Kahar glared at him. "I definitely wasn't expecting Harry Potter to crash our party."  
  
"Well, yours was the best one going on," Harry said. "The others had bland punch or bad music. Or they just breathed to loudly for my taste. Not too much of that going on here, though."  
  
"Be glad that you picked this one then. We've got a lovely parting gift for you." He pulled out a silver dagger from his back pocket and pointed it right at Harry's throat.  
  
"Harry?" Draco asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can I have your Firebolt?"  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Your best friend is about to be skewered and you ask to have his broom?" Alex shouted.  
  
"Sheesh, Flame. Calm down," said Draco.  
  
"You do realize he could have died just then?!?"  
  
"And if he did, then I would have been dead, too. Do you really think I could have taken all of those demons by myself?"  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Sure, mate."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"That was really touching and all," Kahar drawled. "but we have more important things to do." He smirked. "I'm sure they have a nice warm spot in Hell saved for you, Potter."  
  
"That's all right," Harry said nonchalantly. "I need to work on my tan."  
  
"Merry Christmas. Satan's waiting." Kahar pushed the knife towards Harry's throat and found it going through his own flunky. "What the - ?" He was hit from behind.  
  
"I can Apparate, you moron." Harry shoved a stake through Kahar's heart and sang out when he was dusted, "And a Happy New Year!"  
  
Meanwhile, Draco managed to elbow the vamp guarding him and proceeded in beating the crap out of him. "I had to sit in the snow out here for five hours! If I can never have children, it will be entirely your fault! I will make sure you never forget that! Even if you're dead," he added as he staked him. Draco looked up and realized that everyone was staring at him. "What?"  
  
"Finished?" Harry asked amused.  
  
Draco smirked. "Let's kick some vampire arse!"  
  
***************************************************************************  
  
"How many did you end up killing?" Alex asked when the story appeared to be over.  
  
"Thirty-six," Draco said lazily.  
  
Spike blinked. "That doesn't exactly make a guy sleep soundly at night."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
HOW TO DEFEAT A VAMPIRE  
  
By: Cho Chang  
  
There are many ways to injure and even kill a vampire. The most well known one is to stake them through the heart. Now the stake must be made of wood or it won't properly work. When a vamp gets staked, it turns to dust.  
  
There is also holy water, which is more used for injuring. It would take a lot of holy water to kill a vampire. It will burn the skin. A cross has the same effect.  
  
Vampires can not come out in sunlight. This will cause them to burst into flames. If you suspect someone to be a vampire, it's easy to prove or disprove depending on if they go out into sunlight (this is right up there with them not being able to enter a place without being invited in means of identifying them). It is hard to tell if someone is a vampire if they don't have their vamp face on (fangs, wrinkly skin - it's very disturbing, so you'll know it when you see it).  
  
Which brings us to beheading, another useful way to kill a vampire. Though, setting them on fire works well, too..........  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------  
  
Cho's report isn't very good - I wrote it at two a.m. with a bad case of insomnia.  
  
* = quote by Herm Albright 


	11. 10 A Ship Set Out To Sea

A/N: Thanks to my wonderful reviewers:  
  
harrypotter-fan15; potter-man1; Lita of Jupiter; Erynwen; Lady Cinnibar; athenakitty: maybe, eventually.....; amythest; Lunarian; Lunawolf; Trixi Hellfire; Iz: I know, I was so pissed when they killed off Tara! It was unfair ... she and Willow were together again and happy and then BAM! she's gone! It was awful; silver lining3; Authoress: I can't think of any right now ... there was a good fic awhile back, but I believe the author discontinued it. If you find any good HP/BtVS crossovers, please tell me; LoonyLoopyLisa; and Griever-lme: see below ;^)  
  
CH10: A Ship Set Out To Sea  
  
"You're very good."  
  
Harry looked up abruptly and saw Dawn regarding him with great interest.  
  
It was a few days later and Harry was working on his fencing technique in Buffy's backyard. For a town that was suppose to be jumping with demonic activity, things were suspiciously quiet.  
  
"Thank you," Harry replied. He watched Dawn as she examined a few of his daggers with longing. "I could teach you if you want."  
  
"Really?" she said hopefully. "You'd do that?"  
  
"Sure." Dawn squealed and threw her arms around Harry, pulling him into some sort of victory dance. When she had calmed down, they began.  
  
"Okay, well, we can't start you with a sword like this, so ...." With a flick of his wrist, Harry made the sword disappear.  
  
"Wow! How do you do that?"  
  
"Do what?" he asked innocently.  
  
"You know what. Make the sword disappear. You did the same thing after .... " Dawn trailed off.  
  
"When I first got here?" Harry suggested.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"It's a simple spell, not that big a deal."  
  
"I wish I was magical," she said enviously.  
  
"It's not all it's crack up to be," he said sardonically, but then brightened. "Let's get to work."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You didn't mention how hard this was going to be!" Dawn whined, but Harry just shrugged.  
  
"You didn't ask." He collected the practiced swords. "That's enough for today."  
  
"Thank god."  
  
Draco stuck his head out the open kitchen window. "Hey, you two. It's time for lunch."  
  
"What's the deal with Draco anyway? Why did he join the Council?. I mean, you two seem really close, so you should know .... " Dawn asked as they made their way back into the house. "If you don't want to tell me - " she hastily added.  
  
Harry laughed. "No, it's okay. What to say about Draco .... Well, we've known each other since we were eleven, but ... "  
  
"But?"  
  
"We despised each other. We were kind of rivals in school .... "  
  
"You're joking!"  
  
"I kid you not."  
  
"But you two are best friends. How could you go from hating each other to they way act now?"  
  
"Look, it's not my place to tell you. You'll have to ask Draco for the details, but ... he has some 'family problems' and when I left the wizarding world, he came with me."  
  
"Oh." Dawn looked thoughtful. "Was he seeing anyone back at Hogwarts?"  
  
"Oh my bloody god. You have a crush on Draco?!?"  
  
"Keep it down," she hissed.  
  
"I can't believe this," Harry whispered.  
  
"He's so cute and charming and has such perfect lips and a cute as - "  
  
"Okay, spare me the details." He shuddered. "Bad mental images."  
  
"Well, was he?" she prompted.  
  
"He was dating this one girl named Pansy" Dawn eyes widened "but that's way over now." "Yes!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What have you guys been up to?" Draco asked as Harry and Dawn entered the kitchen.  
  
"We were having this long, meaningful talk about - " Harry smirked as Dawn elbowed him.  
  
"Harry's teaching me how to fence," she interrupted.  
  
"So," Draco began, his eyes glittering. "Harry's been showing you his sword?"  
  
Harry snorted. He expected Dawn to blush, the way Ginny used to around him, but he was disappointed.  
  
"Jealous?" she purred.  
  
"No, no. I know for a fact that my sword is way longer."  
  
"How do know this?" Harry asked, trying to keep a straight face.  
  
"I measured it," Draco said, matter-a-fact. Dawn erupted into giggles.  
  
"I'm going to go take a shower. I feel strangely violated now," said Harry as he left the room.  
  
"You know you want me," called Draco.  
  
Harry peered back around the doorframe. "Dawn, the bathroom in this house does have a lock on it right? I have a feeling I'm going to need to keep out intruders." Dawn nodded through her laughter. "You two stay here. I'm sure you'll find away to let out all of your pent-up sexual frustration, Draco."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry entered the trio's attic apartment to find Alex sprawled out on her bed, reading. Harry snuck up behind her and jumped on the bed.  
  
"Harry!" she shrieked.  
  
"Hiya, Flame!"  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Testing the bouncy-ness of your bed. What's it look like I'm doing?"  
  
"You're dripping on my book," she complained. Harry shook his head like a wet dog.  
  
"Better?" he asked sweetly.  
  
"Couldn't you just have used a drying charm?"  
  
"Where's the fun in that?"  
  
"You are being annoyingly cheerful today."  
  
"You know you love me."  
  
"Are you going to stay on my bed all day? 'Cause you're kind of sitting on my legs."  
  
"I'm quite comfortable actually," Harry said, skirting the question. "Whatcha reading?"  
  
"'A Tale of Two Cities'."  
  
"A Muggle book, right? Is it any good?"  
  
"Yeah. It was my mother's fav - " Alex stopped abruptly.  
  
"Flame?" Harry asked, all humor gone. "What happened to your parents?"  
  
"It's nothing .... " she protested weakly.  
  
"Alex?" he asked softly.  
  
"They -they were ki-killed. By vampires. They murdered our whole town. I was in the school at the time. A magical public school. And they came .... they got all of my friends, too. They got everybody. I only just made it out alive." She wiped her eyes on Harry's sleeve. "That's why I joined the Council. I need - I need to stop them. I won't let it happen to anyone else."  
  
Harry let her cry into his arms the rest of the afternoon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
At dinner, Buffy had an announcement for them.  
  
"You three have to blend in here, in as many ways as possible, right?" Without waiting for any assent, she continued. "It looks odd to have teenagers just lounging around all day long, so ..... "  
  
"You can't be serious!" Alex exclaimed, eyes widening in realization.  
  
"I am." Buffy took a deep breath. "You have to face one of the biggest evil's Sunnydale has - high school."  
  
"A Muggle high school?" whispered Draco fearfully.  
  
"You start Monday."  
  
Harry took in the horrified faces of his friends. "We're doomed."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
I don't have many things to tell you, but there is one thing you need to know. One big thing.  
  
~You are not going to believe what happened, Harry!~  
  
Cho, I'm telling this story.  
  
~Soh-ry!~  
  
Anyway, yesterday morning, Ron came into the Great Hall and -  
  
+He was being git-like as usual. At least now we know why.+  
  
*You're getting ahead of yourself, dear brother. Harry doesn't know yet.*  
  
+You're right, Fred. We have to explain first - +  
  
I'll be the one doing the explaining! As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, -  
  
*Don't need to be so pushy about it, Nev!*  
  
Give me my quill back!  
  
+Yes, oh Great King of the Plants.+  
  
Ack! There's the bell. Hold on, Harry, I'll write more in Potions....  
  
Finally, no Twins or Cho in this class. I should have never told them I was writing you a letter.....  
  
(According to school rules, I had to confiscate this from Mr. Longbottom and give it to his head of House. I'm sure Minerva will want to write something, too, but by looks of it, if Neville doesn't get this back soon he will spontaneously combust. His potion is about to .... I hate teaching children .... Anyway, hello Harry. And say hi to Draco.)  
  
Well, now this letter is being brought to Professor McGonagall. I'm never going to get to finish it am I!  
  
[You'll get it back in a minute, Mr. Longbottom. Hello Harry, how are you? And Draco? I hope you two are being careful, wherever you are. And that you are having loads of fun. But mostly keeping out of trouble! And don't give me anything about 'Trouble being your middle name' because I know for a fact your middle name is James.... Oh, Neville has to go to DADA now. Bye.]  
  
If those two take this letter from me as well I will hex someone -  
  
{How's hunter life suiting you, Harry? I know Minerva will have already .... er, written you the riot act, so I won't even tell you to be careful .... Oh, Sirius wants to write something. He's working as my assistant right now ... I'll just hand over the quill.}  
  
#Thanks, Rem. Kiddo! What's up? Getting into lots of trouble I hope. And I saw what Minerva wrote above, I'll have to tell her that Potter is actually a synonym for trouble, so at least your last name means trouble. Anyway, we all miss you here - #  
  
Finally! I had to wrestle the parchment away from Sirius. Thankfully, Professor Lupin gave me a dictation quill - it writes what a person says - so now people can just talk while I'm giving my story. They'll probably both end up on here somewhere ....  
  
'Hey, Nev? Why are you talking to your homework?'  
  
I'm not talking to my homework, Seamus. I'm trying to dictate a letter.  
  
'Oh. To who?'  
  
Harry, if you must know.  
  
'Really? You know where he is?'  
  
No, but my owl does.  
  
@Why would you write to him?@  
  
He's a friend, Ron. He used to be yours too, if you can remember that far back.  
  
&It was only last June.&  
  
My point exactly, Dean.  
  
@Well, tell the prat we don't miss him and that we hope he falls off a really high cliff@  
  
This is a dictation quill, Ron. He can hear what you are saying.  
  
'Hiya, Harry!'  
  
&Don't listen to Ron, he's still sore about the Hermione-thing&  
  
@I AM NOT! What do I care if she continues to pine after that arsehole@  
  
Which is the whole point of my letter, Harry. Ron and Hermione got into a big fight yesterday because she won't go out with him since she's "in love" CoughYeahRightCough with you. Of course, Ron's pissed (at you) and thus, the git-ness. Well, I better send this before someone else gets hold of it.  
  
Bye Harry!  
  
Neville 


	12. 11 Back At The Ranch

A/N: Thanks to Xirleb70: I still think Spike should be mine .... *grumbles*; athenakitty; muggle: Actually, I was a bit lost on my Buffy seasons (I had practice the nights it was on), so I kinda combined some of them .... I think the time line is in the A/N of chapter 4 or 5 of this fic; KamiSusan; Authoress; LoonyLoopyLisa: Reviews can never be too long!!!  
  
CH11: Back At The Ranch ....  
  
Harry dropped Neville's letter in shock. Hermione? His ex-best friend Hermione? In love with him? Harry had to admit, if he was still at Hogwarts, he would have been quite attracted to her.... But now? She betrayed him! How dare she!  
  
While Harry was raving mentally, another owl flew through the window. He stopped his tirade to read it.  
  
^Dear Mr. Potter,  
  
We are sincerely sorry for your suspected guilt. We hope that you have forgiven the wizarding world, even though we don't deserve it.  
  
However, in light of your absence, the Ministry has given you the full rights of an adult wizard. Due to these unusual circumstances, we are required to release several items to you.  
  
For information about these items, please contact Albus Dumbledore.  
  
Griphook  
  
Head Goblin of Gringotts Bank^  
  
Harry stared at the parchment, willing it to disappear. Then he smirked evilly.  
  
'Maybe a trip to Hogwarts is in store after all.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Neville awaited anxiously for Harry's reply. When it arrived, he ripped it open hungrily.  
  
^Hey Neville.  
  
So Hermione's in 'love' with me? Funny that. If she was in love with me why did she abandon me? Why did she desert me when I needed her the most? If that's love, she has a strange way of showing it.  
  
Well, if she mentions me again, tell her I say 'Hello' and give her the message Weasley gave to me. That I don't miss her and hope she falls off a really big cliff. Maybe add a 'ta-ta' at the end. Be creative.  
  
You know what? I'll just tell her myself.  
  
Take care. I'll see you soon.  
  
Harry  
  
PS - Tell Bumblebee to get out whatever things of mine that Gringotts left in his possession. I kind of curious as to what I'm traveling back over the ocean for.^  
  
He stared at the letter in shock.  
  
"Bloody hell."  
  
"Bloody hell what, Neville?" Ron asked impatiently. He was in the middle of embellishing another one of his Quidditch exploits.  
  
Neville didn't take his eyes of the parchment. "Headmaster?" he called out. "Headmaster!?!"  
  
The hall silenced. "What is it, Mr. Longbottom?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"What did Gringotts leave with you? The things that belong to Harry?"  
  
"A few personal effects of his parents," he said quietly. "Why?"  
  
"Because he's coming for them."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"How do you think he is?" Sirius asked. Yet again. "When is he getting here?"  
  
"For the last time, I don't know!" Neville shouted impatiently.  
  
Sirius was unperturbed. "I can't wait to see him again."  
  
"We know, Sirius," sighed Remus. "We know."  
  
"When is he - ?"  
  
"Who gave him sugar?" came a voice from the desk. The trio wheeled around.  
  
"Harry!"  
  
"Down boy," Harry playfully admonished his godfather. Sirius pouted. "Kidding."  
  
"How are you?"  
  
"Here we go again," Neville mumbled.  
  
"Fine, Padfoot. Just peachy. How's everything here?"  
  
Remus caught the double meaning behind the words first. "It's alright. Not as bad as last time .... yet."  
  
"Well that's good. Kind of."  
  
"Where have you been?" asked Sirius, inspecting Harry closely. "You're all .... tan."  
  
"California."  
  
"As in America?"  
  
"That's the only California I know about. And don't tell anyone."  
  
"Wasn't planning to."  
  
"I was right?" said Neville.  
  
"About Macnair? Yeah, that was me." Harry shrugged. "He used Polyjuice potion and took my face. I had to get back at him some how."  
  
"The Death Eaters?" asked Remus quietly. "They know where you are?"  
  
"Apparently." At his friends worried looks, he quickly continued. "But don't worry. I can take care of myself."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive. Anyway, I really need to hurry. There are some .... unpleasant things I have to take care of while I'm here. And I don't have much time."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I - I start at a Muggle high school tomorrow."  
  
"Good luck," Neville snickered.  
  
"Well, I've got to pay a visit to the Bumblebee."  
  
"Why do you call him that."  
  
"It's what his name means," Harry said matter-of-fact.  
  
"That's not the only reason, is it?" Remus asked.  
  
"No .... he's the epitome of a bumblebee. They look sweet and innocent .... a bit fluffy," he chuckled, but turned serious. "But they can sting like any other bee."  
  
Sirius, Remus, and Neville exchanged nervous looks as Harry left the room.  
  
'Would there be any pieces of their Headmaster left when Harry was finished with him?' 


	13. 12 Awfu er, Fond Reunions

A/N: Well, I have the stomach flu and had to stay home today, so you guys get a new chapter! Hope you enjoy!  
  
Thanks to Ankalagon: coming right up!!!; athenakitty; Authoress; LoonyLoopyLisa; Xirleb70; and wanderingwolf!!!  
  
CH12: Awfu - er, Fond Reunions  
  
Albus entered his office and stopped short. Sitting at his desk was a man he had never seen before.  
  
The man was dressed in a green sweater and donned black jeans, which matched his tousled black - tipped blue - hair, and he was tapping his fingers on the desktop. It was obvious he was waiting. And definitely impatiently.  
  
"Can I help you?" Albus asked brightly, still wary about the stranger in front of him.  
  
"Don't exactly want your help. It seems to get me into all sorts of trouble." He stood up and Albus met familiar green eyes.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"In the flesh." Harry took a mock-bow. "Now I believe you have something that belongs to me?"  
  
"Ah yes. Just a minute." Albus went over to a cabinet and started rummaging through it. "You're looking well. You sure grew up."  
  
"I had to." Harry said shortly.  
  
Albus coughed uncomfortably. "Oh. I - I - "  
  
Harry cut him off. "I don't have much time. What did Gringotts leave with you?"  
  
"This." The Headmaster pulled out a battered looking trunk. "It was your mother's. I'm sure there will be some items in there that will interest you."  
  
"Thanks." He placed a Shrinking Charm on the trunk and put it in his pocket. "Then I'll be going."  
  
"Wait!" Albus called as Harry started down the stairs. "Where are you going?"  
  
"Home."  
  
"But - but - I was hoping you'd - "  
  
"Look." Harry said as they stopped in the Entrance. The sounds of dinner floated through the ajar doors of the Great Hall. "With total disrespect, I really don't want to be in, around, or even in sight of this school."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
" - or even in sight of this school." The words carried into the Hall, stopping conversation.  
  
"That's - " Fred began.  
  
"Harry," said George.  
  
"Potter?!?" Ron exclaimed. "What the hell is he doing here?" He jumped out of his seat and ran towards the doors.  
  
"We should probably stop him," George observed.  
  
"Or not," Fred said wickedly. "Our littlest brother needs a good throttling."  
  
"As long as we all get to watch," said Neville.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry sighed. He really didn't want to deal with the old coot today. So when someone stomped out of the Hall it was a welcome interruption. For a moment.  
  
"I swear I'll - " Ron's fist flew towards Harry's face and .....  
  
...... Before anyone reacted, Ron was on his back, Harry's foot on his chest and wand pointed at his throat.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"You know what I'm doing," Ron answered stupidly. He appeared to be a bit dazed.  
  
"Well, you seem to be making an ass out of yourself in public, but it may not be the same thing to you." There were a few snickers from the gathering crowd. Ron chose not to answer. "Okay, let's try an easier question. Why are you trying to knock my lights out?"  
  
"Because you are a cowa - " Harry pressed his foot into his ex-best friend's chest harder, effectively cutting off his reply.  
  
"Remember which one of us has a wand pointing at them, Weasley."  
  
"What are you going to do?" challenged Ron. "You were always too afraid to fight me before."  
  
"When? We never fought before."  
  
"My point exactly," he said smugly.  
  
"I never had a reason to bash your head in before, but I'm getting dangerously close to doing it now," Harry threatened.  
  
"You wouldn't dare. Hermione doesn't like violent people."  
  
"And I care what she thinks why?"  
  
"Oh, come on, Potter. We all know she has a thing for you."  
  
"Trust me, the feelings aren't mutual."  
  
"You don't want to go out with her?" asked Ron, clearly amazed.  
  
"Not in the least."  
  
"Good! Not that I care," he quickly added.  
  
"Right. I hope you two live miserably ever after together. Now, all I really want is to leave this bloody school, which I can't seem to do. It's making me a bit irritable." He removed his foot and let Ron up. "So get out of my face before I take a leaf out of the fake-Moody's book and turn 'you' into a ferret. Or maybe a weasel," he said, the last bit thoughtfully.  
  
Ron let out a squeak, vaguely reminiscent of a ferret actually, and scurried off. The Twins clapped.  
  
"Very good, Harry!" said George.  
  
"Simply superb!" Fred chimed in.  
  
Harry gave a wry smile. "Glad you approve."  
  
"I've wanted to see someone knock him off his high horse for a long time," Severus said. Minerva hit him.  
  
"You can't say that!" she said. "At least, not in front of the students."  
  
"Min's right, Sev," chuckled Harry. "And, if there are no more objections, I'm going to go now." Without anymore ado, he walked out of Hogwarts.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Cho sat in her dorm room, finishing her Charms essay.  
  
"What is it? The juice .... conjuring .... starts with an H .... "  
  
"Hentora Charm?" said someone behind her. Cho whirled around.  
  
"Harry!" She threw her arms around his neck. "I thought you already - "  
  
"Did you think I'd leave with out saying good-bye?" Harry asked, hugging her back.  
  
"I had hoped not." She smiled. "Sit down. Can I get you some .... juice?"  
  
"No, no. I just wanted to visit before I left. I really do have a long trip ahead of me."  
  
"Alright," Cho sighed. "We all really miss you around here, you know. Could you come back and visit again soon? Maybe?"  
  
"We'll see. Who knows? Maybe you could come visit me. Ever been to the USA?"  
  
"Really? I could do that?"  
  
Harry laughed at her excitement. "Sure, you're always welcome."  
  
"I may hold you to that."  
  
"Bye Cho." And before she knew it, he was gone.  
  
"Bye Harry," she whispered. "Be careful." 


	14. 13 Sighs and Surprises

*/N: I finally have the chance to update! As most of you know, my computer won't let me update anything. Not sure why. Anyway, I now have someone to update for me (thanks Xirleb70!). I hope to update again during the week. Next weekend at the latest.  
  
Thanks to Xirleb70: Go clones! Yay clones! Go, go! La la la ..... I've really got to lay off the sugar; wanderingwolf; athenakitty; LoonyLoopyLisa; Authoress; Dreamweaver; PantherGuide; Nightingale a.k.a. Moonbay; and krazymelmo5385!!!  
  
Okay, one more thing, I've had a bunch of people mention pairings .... anyone have a preference? I still haven't decided who everyone will end up with yet.  
  
CH13: Sighs and Surprises  
  
"There are two rules," Dawn explained as the she, Harry, Draco, and Alex walked down the street towards Sunnydale High. "1 - Don't talk to any nerds and/or geeks. 2 - Don't talk to any jocks, drama club members, or anyone who is more popular than, well, me."  
  
Alex nodded her head in consent, while Draco just looked around curiously at the passing cars. Harry stared at her.  
  
"Why?" he asked.  
  
"Because. I worked very hard to stay in the middle class of the school and, trust me, we could be way worse off."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It's High School, Harry," said Alex. "This is a whole new ballgame."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Room C149, C149, where is it?" Harry searched the doors for the right room number. "No, that's B149. Uggg, I'm lost."  
  
He was looking for his Biology class..... and having zero luck. Luckily, Luck stepped in and, when he turned the corner, he felt flat on his unlucky back. As luck would have it, he luckily wasn't hurt that badly.*  
  
Harry glanced up and he realized he had slammed into someone.  
  
"I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," apologized Harry and he helped the girl to her feet.  
  
"Well, you should - " she stopped abruptly, pushing a long blond hair out of her eyes, and smiled sweetly at him. "No, it's - it's my fault. Hi, are you new here?"  
  
"Yeah," Harry responded, slightly puzzled by her changed in moods. "I just transferred."  
  
"Really. An exchange student?"  
  
Harry smiled wryly. "I guess the accent gives me away, huh." She giggled annoyingly and nodded. "I'm from England."  
  
"Cool. Oh! We've got to get to class. Wouldn't want to be late on your first day, right?"  
  
"Hold on. Do you know where room C149 is?"  
  
"You have Mr. G, too?"  
  
He checked his schedule. "Mr. Gurtok."  
  
"Yup, Mr. G. Follow me, I'm going there, too."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Class, we have a new exchange student. Mr. Potter?" Mr. Gurtok called out after the bell rang. "Please stand up and say a few things about yourself."  
  
Harry stood up nervously: he had never like talking in front of people. "Er .... well, my name is Harry. Harry Potter. I just transferred here from a boarding school in England - "  
  
"What was that like?" someone cut in. "Going to a boarding school?"  
  
"Parts of it were great, but ... I'm glad to be out of there." He shook himself out of his reminiscing. "Anyway, I'm staying here for awhile, with the Summers."  
  
"Dawn Summers?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The girl in question was not having a good day. Her problem? Draco.  
  
Dawn sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. Draco was prodding the button of the bubbler** with an amazed look. He still couldn't get used to Muggle technology.  
  
"Come on, Draco. It's lunchtime," called Dawn, trying to pull him towards the cafeteria. "It will still do that later."  
  
"I'm going," he grumbled back. Dawn sighed once more. 'Where is Harry? He's Draco's best friend. He should be the one to deal with this, with Draco utter stupidity with all things non-magical and ..... God, he's so cute when he's thinking hard.' Draco was now carefully examining the soda machine.  
  
"What's this do?" he whispered to Dawn. She rolled her eyes.  
  
'I need Harry.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And, just as Dawn was dragging Draco around, Harry was being pulled down the halls by Amanda Martel, the girl he had crashed into before Biology.  
  
Harry sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. This was just getting ridiculous.  
  
Amanda had made herself Harry's escort: she lead him to classes and introduced him to almost everyone in the school. But Harry didn't like being lead like a puppy on a leash. He was being slowly driven insane. And he hadn't seen one of his friends all day to bail him out.  
  
"How did you like World Civ?" Amanda asked as they headed for lunch.  
  
"I think my hand is going to fall off. I'm developing carpel tunnel syndrome from too many notes," Harry replied sarcastically, but she didn't pick up on.  
  
While Amanda giggled at his joke, Harry sighed yet again. 'Why does she have to giggle so much?'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Finally, Dawn and Draco made it to the lunchroom with minimal distractions. Dawn was at her wits end with Draco and almost sang in joy when Alex waved them over from a table by the window.  
  
"How's your day been so far?" Alex asked as they sat down. Dawn scanned the room for Harry while Draco gave a detailed explanation on what a pencil sharpener did. Alex just stifled a smile.  
  
"Have you seen Harry at all?" asked Dawn.  
  
"No, not yet - Wait, there he is."  
  
Dawn turned around and her eyes widened as she saw Harry with Amanda Martel - the most popular and snobby person she had ever met.  
  
"Hey Harry!" Draco called out.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry grinned when he heard Draco call. His ticket out!  
  
"I'm sorry, Amanda," Harry said. "But I promised my friends that I'd eat lunch with them today."  
  
"Them?" Amanda asked disbelievingly. "You would choose those .... freaks over me?"  
  
Harry's mouth hardened as he was swept away in memories of his time at the Dursleys. "Those 'freaks', as you called them, are my friends. Yeah, I'd choose them over you any day."  
  
Amanda gaped at him as he walked across the room, as did everyone who had heard him. No one insulted Amanda Martel. No one.  
  
"Wait a second, what?!?"  
  
"You heard me."  
  
"How dare you!"  
  
"Now, now, children," a dreamy voice drifted through the room. "There is no need to fight."  
  
"Stay out of this Odd!" snarled Amanda.  
  
A short girl with mousy brown hair glided over***. "Don't get touchy, Mandy. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to knock you off your pedestal." Harry started: he had used similar words in his letter in the Daily Prophet. "Now, may I have a word with this one?"  
  
Without waiting for an answer, she dragged Harry out of the cafeteria.  
  
"Huh - what - why did you do that?" Harry stuttered. "Stick up for me in there, I mean."  
  
She gazed at him with wide, unblinking blue eyes. "I know who you are."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------  
  
* after re-reading that, I tried to figure out what possessed me to use so many 'lucks'. I still haven't had any luck in figuring that out.  
  
** or water fountain  
  
*** a million points to whoever can tell me who Odd is based on. Come on, it's not too hard.  
  
Also, if anyone is actually reading my little note here at the bottom, all of the room numbers and classes they go to in this story are my real classes. And the teachers are all based on my actual teachers. Be afraid. Be very afraid. 


	15. 14 Destiny Written

CH14: Destiny Written  
  
Hogwarts ......  
  
Neville threw his quill down on the table. He was fed up.  
  
Okay, pop quiz time:  
  
Was this because -  
  
A) He had a lack of sleep,  
  
B) An evil, evil, Potions assignment (Snape's got to have some kind of sadistic streak),  
  
C) One of his best friends was gallivanting around the world, doing who knows what, and he hadn't received a bloody letter from him in a month,  
  
D) All of the above.  
  
If you chose D, then congratulations! Come down and collect your prize!  
  
He glared at his essay, wishing it burst in to tiny flames.  
  
..... not really because that would mean he'd have to do it all over again, but you get the point.  
  
Neville was incredibly frustrated. Harry hadn't responded to anyone's letters in weeks and there wasn't a trace of him anywhere.  
  
And frankly, it was making him anxious.  
  
'Bloody hell, Harry,' he thought furiously. 'If you're alright, I'm going to kill you.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sunnydale, California .......  
  
The Boy Who Lived (and was most likely going to be hexed by an irate Longbottom) in question was currently working through homework as well in his own school's library.  
  
"Okay, what is the Denouement of a Doll's House?" he muttered to himself. "Well, first, what does 'Denouement' mean?"  
  
"It's the resolution," said a dreamy voice behind him.  
  
"Thanks, Odd."  
  
"Either that, or it means the origins of the characters."  
  
"Meaning?"  
  
"Their pasts."  
  
"How are we supposed to know that?"  
  
"You aren't."  
  
"The what - ?"  
  
"You have to look for them."  
  
Harry sighed and flashed back to the day he met this strange girl.  
  
*********************************************************  
  
One month earlier .....  
  
"Huh - what - why did you do that?" Harry stuttered. "Stick up for me in there, I mean."  
  
She gazed at him with wide, unblinking blue eyes. "I know who you are."  
  
Harry stared back. "What?"  
  
"You're Harry Potter," she stated bluntly. "The Boy Who Lived."  
  
"Who are you?" he demanded, going back on guard. "How do you know that?"  
  
"I'm a Squib. Maria Oddment to be exact. But everyone calls me Odd."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well, aren't you articulate."  
  
"Hahaha."  
  
"You don't strike me as the hero type." She circled around him, studying. "I always thought you'd be taller."  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you."  
  
She laughed. "I like you." She turned towards the door and said over her shoulder. "There is something different about you, Harry Potter. I think we can expect great things." And with that, Odd left the room, leaving a very confused Harry behind.  
  
************************************************************  
  
Harry sighed, pushing the work way from him. He was too preoccupied to think. It had been a month since his trip to Hogwarts and he hadn't received replies to any of his letters. Quite frankly, his thoughts tended to drift towards the worst.  
  
If the idea that some horrible evil was looming over his English friends wasn't enough, the nightly patrols were starting to grate on his nerves. The Hell Mouth was finally living up to its name: there were at least 5 attacks a night and the number was steadily increasing.  
  
His inner musings were interrupted when Draco bounded into the library, plopping down in the seat across from him. "So how's the English homework, Har?"  
  
Harry just dropped his head on the table top.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Neville rushed down the hall, knowing it was futile and he was going to be very late for Potions. He cursed under his breath when the bell rang. But he stopped short when he caught a bit of conversation.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us, Albus?"  
  
That was Sirius. And he sounded angry. Neville leaned in closer to hear more.  
  
"I had my reasons, Sirius."  
  
"I think we have a right to know if there is a prophecy out there about Voldemort and my godson!"  
  
The boy's breath caught in his throat and his faced paled. These things always happened to Harry.  
  
"I know. It was a mistake - "  
  
"What exactly does this prophecy say?" Remus' voice said.  
  
There was a long pause before .....  
  
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.  
  
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."  
  
"Oh my God."  
  
"Does that mean what I think it means?" Sirius sounded panicked.  
  
"Yes. Harry has to kill Voldemort or he'll die."  
  
Neville slowly backed away from the doorway, eyes wide open with shock.  
  
'Harry. He. what. somebody's got to tell him. And he's not answering his letters. he could already be. no, I won't think like that. Harry's fine and.'  
  
It was then Neville knew what he had to do.  
  
He always wanted to visit America anyway. 


	16. 15 Where's Neville?

CH15: Where's Neville?  
  
Hogwarts .........  
  
The next morning a note from one Neville Longbottom was found on a couch in the Gryffindor Common room.  
  
It had been found by one Hermione Granger, who stared at the parchment in confusion, bitting down on her lower lip. She didn't like not being able to figure things out.  
  
Dear everyone,  
  
Just writing this to inform you all that I will be gone for a few days. I'm sorry for not asking before I left, but I knew you wouldn't approve. Well, some of you would, but ...... that's not the point.  
  
Don't worry, I'll be fine.  
  
Neville Longbottom  
  
PS - Sirius, I'm sure he's fine and yes - I will say 'hello' for you.  
  
Hermione read the letter one more time before hurrying down to the Great Hall, in search of Professor Dumbledore.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sunnydale ........  
  
Harry stalked through a graveyard, determination in every step.  
  
Last night, he'd been awoken by a vision of Voldemort ravaging a village just south of Kent. There were no survivors.  
  
He was angry. He was very angry. He was downright pissed off.  
  
Now he just needed something to take his anger out on .......  
  
Ah, there we go.  
  
A vampire was bearing down on a teenager boy a hundred yards away.  
  
Perfect.  
  
"Now that's not very nice," Harry admonished as he strolled up to the pair. "Going right in for dinner. I bet you didn't even buy him a drink first. Maybe flirt a little ..... "  
  
The vampire whipped around and Harry met the eyes of a young blond women. But that's not what got his attention.  
  
"Harry?" the boy asked, slumping against a gravestone.  
  
"Neville?"  
  
Noticing he was distracted, the vamp shot a fist out that connected painfully with Harry's jaw. He staggered to the side, regaining his balance, and returned with a kick to the her gut. She flew into a tree, only to be impaled by a branch.  
  
"Good shot," Neville said weakly.  
  
Harry held out a hand to Neville and helped him up. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, I - "  
  
"Do you know you could have gotten yourself killed a minute ago?"  
  
"You see - "  
  
"And does anyone even know you're here?"  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry looked sheepish. "Sorry."  
  
"I know I could have gotten killed," Neville sighed. "I tried hexing her, but - "  
  
"Magic doesn't work on vampires," interrupted Harry.  
  
"I know that now. How come?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "I dunno. Nobody does." He grinned lopsidedly. "It's one of those unsolved mysteries of the wizarding world."  
  
"They should really teach us that in DADA."  
  
"They do."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"You weren't really there for that lesson. Too worried that Severus was going to kill you for your Boggart."  
  
"I still worry about that."  
  
"So are you going to tell why you're here now?"  
  
"Mostly to check up on you. And there are some things we need to discuss ..... "  
  
"Yeah, like why you haven't been responding to my letters?"  
  
"Harry, I haven't gotten any letters. I came here to find out why you weren't writing back."  
  
"What?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So someone's been intercepting your mail?" Draco asked. Harry and Neville had filled the Hunters and the Scooby Gang in on their newest problem.  
  
"That's the gist of it," sighed Harry.  
  
Giles' was cleaning his glasses on a handkerchief, a sign Harry had quickly come to realize meant that he was in deep thought. "Was there anything in those letters that was of great importance?" he finally asked.  
  
"Yes," both boys said as one.  
  
"I've been writing about the Order's movements," explained Neville, a flash of panic appearing on his face. "And what we think Voldemort is up to."  
  
"I've been writing about my visions," Harry said quietly. Giles' looked up in alarm. Harry had informed them of his .... dreams ..... a few weeks ago, once they had begun getting stronger.  
  
"Does Voldemort know about the connection?"  
  
"I don't know." Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I mean, I don't think so."  
  
"What would he do if he did?" Dawn asked timidly.  
  
The magically inclined people in the room (bar Willow) exchanged looks.  
  
"I'm not sure I want to know," replied Draco.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Neville shifted on the couch, trying to get comfortable. The rest of the household had already gone up to bed, but the 5th year wizard couldn't sleep.  
  
He still hadn't told Harry about the Prophecy - the main reason he had flown halfway across the world. And he wasn't sure how to.  
  
One thing was for sure: he definitely wasn't looking forward to that conversation. 


	17. 16 Wildflowers

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but I wanted it to be perfect. It has a lot of things that will be important to the story later on. It's still not exactly what I wanted it to be, but I feel bad about holding it any longer.**

CH16: Wildflowers  
  
Neville looked at Harry uncertainly as they stalked up the aisles of the cemetery. He still hadn't found the right time to tell Harry exactly why he had come to Sunnydale. But the black-haired teen had too many other things on his mind to be burdened by the Prophecy now. Especially when they ...  
  
"Neville! Duck!"  
  
... were being attacked by vampires.  
  
He watched as Harry's leg struck out, hitting the incoming bloodsucker and sending him into a tree. Harry turned to Neville.  
  
"Hand me one of those – "Before he could finish, the vamp recovered and hit him across the face. Harry went reeling over a gravestone. "Stakes," he finished, quickly standing. "Sorry for my intrusion, Mrs. Joanna Whittaker," he read. "May you rest in peace." He sent another blow towards the vampire.  
  
Neville scrambled through the bag for a stake. Why didn't he listen and keep the stakes at arms' length? His fingers finally closed around a long piece of wood. '_There!'  
_  
"Harry, I got – "But another chunk of gravestone-shrapnel came soaring through the air towards him, knocking the stake out of his hand. "Ow! Ooops."  
  
"Lovely sidekick you got there," laughed the vampire as Harry fell to the ground again.  
  
"Nev," he said weakly.  
  
"I know, Harry," Neville replied and started scouring the ground for the elusive stake. Harry nodded and took another blow to the chest.  
  
"Awww, did that hurt?" the vamp cooed. "The poor hunter is becoming the hunted."  
  
"Not yet," Harry growled. He shoved the vamp up against the wall of a mausoleum.  
  
"A feisty one!" He kicked out at Harry's leg and the teen had to jump, losing his grip on the vamp's shoulders. "You remind me of young huntress that I encountered many years ago."  
  
"Did she kick your arse, too?" They exchanged verbal and physical blows as the entered the mausoleum's doors.  
  
The vamp laughed. "Quite the opposite actually. I took a chunk of her shoulder with me."  
  
"You must be very proud." Harry punch the vamp in the neck. The vamp dragged Harry down as he fell into a patch of moonlight on the floor.  
  
"What pretty green eyes you have."  
  
"What long teeth you have!" he mocked sardonically, but the vampire just smirked.  
  
"You are definitely related to the Lily-flower," he remarked and Harry stopped abruptly.  
  
"Lily? You knew my mother?"  
  
The mausoleum's doors burst open again and Neville rushed in, arms waving wildly. "Harry, I got your stake!"  
  
But the vamp took Harry's moment of surprise and pinned him against the stone casket in the center of the room.  
  
"Isn't this situation very, _very _familiar." He pulled a dagger out of his pocket, the blade glinting in the dim light. Neville gulped. "This is the very same situation I last saw your mother in," the vamp whispered into Harry's ear. He slowly brought the blade up and ran it along the side of Harry's face. Harry winced in pain. "Now, the question is, do I finish the job I started on her all those years ago?" He quickly sliced into Harry's shoulder and -  
  
_POOF!!!!_ Was suddenly dust? Harry blinked.  
  
"Hey, there, Deni," called a familiar voice from the entryway. "Need some help there?" Draco smirked and held out a hand to his friend, leaning the crossbow against the casket.  
  
"Yeah," Harry answered, dazedly.  
  
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost."  
  
Harry traced the cut on his shoulder, his fingers getting seeped with blood. "We need to get back to Buffy's house. Now."

* * *

Harry raced into the house and up to their attic apartment, where Flame was sitting and reading a book. She gasped at the sight of Harry.  
  
"What happened?" She inspected the blood on his shirt. "You need to have this looked at right away."  
  
"Later."  
  
"No, if you don't – " "Later!" Flame recoiled and Harry strode across the room to the closet. He reached in and pulled out ...  
  
"Your mother's trunk?"  
  
"I haven't looked at it yet," he babbled. "I've been too afraid. But I have to know what he meant. I need to know what he was talking about."  
  
"Harry, slow down. What who was talking about?"  
  
But Harry didn't hear her. All that he saw was the trunk. And he pulled open the latch.

* * *

Downstairs, Draco was grilling Neville about what had occurred before he got to the graveyard.  
  
"I'm not sure. I was too far away to hear anything."  
  
"Not even a little bit?" he pressed.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Flame came barreling down the stairs. "What's wrong with Harry?"  
  
"I don't know!" Neville shouted. Then he looked sheepish. "Sorry."  
  
"What's he doing now?" Draco asked.  
  
Flame hesitated. "He's looking through his mother's things."  
  
"What?"

* * *

"Harry?" said Draco quietly. "Is everything alright?"  
  
The person in question was slumped against the side of his bed, staring at a brown book in his hands. He wordlessly turned to look at his friend, who had come over to sit by him.  
  
They sat in silence, until Harry finally spoke up.  
  
"My mother was a vampire hunter," he said emotionlessly.  
  
Draco's eyebrows shot up, but Harry took no notice and went on.  
  
"That's what the vampire said to me today. A _vampire_ knows more about my own mother than me." He looked pleadingly at Draco. "Im, why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I – I don't know, Harry."

* * *

The next few days passed by in a blur for Harry. He didn't move from the trunk and he spent the hours trying to learn more about the woman who gave him life, the woman he knew nothing about.  
  
He had a steady stream of visitors. The next morning, Willow came upstairs to deliver breakfast and to look at his wounds.  
  
"Well, they aren't serious," she told him, wrapping a bandage around his shoulder. "But they will scar since you didn't have them treated right away."  
  
"Everyone has scars. How could a few more hurt?"  
  
Draco, Flame, Neville, and Dawn sat with him constantly, trying to distract him, but nothing worked. He had barely said ten words wince that night.  
  
When Sunday night had rolled around, the two hunters and the Slayer had gone out patrolling, leaving Neville to keep watch over Harry. The boy was still absorbing the brown book.  
  
_August 4, 1980,_ Harry read in his mother's journal. It was the last entry.  
  
_I love my son. More than I ever thought I could love someone. So I'm doing this for him. I can't put my life in danger every night. My baby needs me. Ardesco is angry, but he'll get over it. He says the Council needs me, but I can't risk it anymore. Someone has to be here to protect Harry as he grows up. I can no longer hunt. It's time for me to give up my calling to help my child fulfill his own destiny.  
_  
Harry ran his hand over the soft leather cover of the journal, tears filling his eyes. He reread the message over and over again. But he soon paused.  
  
"What does she mean 'fulfill his own destiny'?" he whispered. Neville looked up at him.  
  
"What was that, Harry?"  
  
Harry passed the book over to Neville, reluctant to let it go. The brown- haired boy skimmed the message, his eyes widening. Slowly, he locked his eyes with Harry.  
  
"I think it's about time I tell you why I really came to Sunnydale." 


	18. 17 Retraction

**A/N: My apologises for the length of this chapter. In the midst of writing, young Miss Xirleb70 decided that she wanted attention and wouldn't let me finish it. Ma ami le chien, being such a fur brain, insisted that I leave the chapter a cliffie and talk to her instead. So, if there are any complaints, they should be lodged with my new secretary, Xirbs, who can be reached either on my Yahoo! Group (which would amuse me greatly and encourage me to write faster) or by im-ing her at Xirleb70.**

CH17: Retraction  
  
"DUMBLEDORE!!!" The roar rang out through the Great Hall, startling the first-years and the teachers alike. Many jumped up and pulled out there wands, only to be slightly shocked when Harry Potter stalked through the door.  
  
A very angry Harry Potter.  
  
Teeth grinding and fist clenched, he strode up to the Head Table and stopped in front of the esteemed Headmaster.  
  
"We. Need. To. Talk." He said each word slowly, barely restraining from clocking the old man. "Now."

* * *

"When were you planning on telling me?!?" Harry roared. "After Voldemort hunted down and killed the rest of my family? You should have told us the danger we were in! Of all the selfish, irresponsible things you have ever done – this just tops it all."  
  
"I was waiting for the right time – " he began, trying to placate the irate teen, but Harry would have none of that.  
  
"You really screwed up this time, Professor. And why didn't you tell me my mother was a hunter?"  
  
Dumbledore was startled by the topic change. "I beg your pardon?"  
  
"Why didn't you tell me about my mother?"  
  
"Harry, this isn't the time. We have more important things we must discuss."  
  
"It's always this way for you. Everything is more important than ..... us. The actual people. You never saw me as a person, did you. I was always just a weapon to you. Well that ends. I never, and I mean never, want to hear another word from you, Albus Dumbledore. Stay the hell out of my life."  
  
"Harry - "  
  
The ancient wizards arms dropped to his sides as the office door slammed shut.

* * *

"Neville?" Dean asked the moment the portrait swung open. "You're back!"  
  
Seamus grinned and threw an arm around his no-longer-missing friend's shoulder. "Where have you been, mate?"  
  
"With Harry," he answered shortly. "It's great to be back and all, but, if you don't mind, I need some sleep. It was a long trip."  
  
"Wait," said a timid voice behind him. "Do you know if Harry's still in the school?"  
  
Neville didn't even bother turning around. "I wouldn't do it, Hermione."  
  
But the sound of feet rushing out into the hall was all that answered.

* * *

Harry stormed back down to the Entrance Hall, muttering to himself. Sirius and Remus would just have to understand why he wasn't stopping by: he just wanted to get out of this forsaken school.  
  
As he pulled open the front door, a voice behind him made his blood freeze.  
  
"Harry?" 


	19. 18 My Name

**A/N: ****Here is the other half of the chapter. The part that I would have posted on the 27th if Miss Xirleb hadn't decided to distract me. Lol.**

CH18: My Name  
  
_Previous Chapter: Harry stormed back down to the Entrance Hall, muttering to himself. Sirius and Remus would just have to understand why he wasn't stopping by: he just wanted to get out of this forsaken school.  
_  
_As he pulled open the front door, a voice behind him made his blood freeze.  
  
"Harry?"_  
  
"Hermione," Harry said shortly. He couldn't turn around and face her. He knew that, if he did, he'd do something he would later regret.  
  
Well, maybe regret. A little bit.  
  
"I've missed you," she whispered. "It's not the same without you around here."  
  
"If that's all you wanted to say, I really have to get going."  
  
"Don't be like that, Harry."  
  
"I'll be however I please," he snapped.  
  
"Please. Look at me, Harry. _Please_." Harry slowly turned around, his nails cutting into the palms of his hands. A tear-streaked Hermione stood before him.  
  
They stared at each other.  
  
"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" sobbed Hermione and she moved forward to hug him. Harry crossed his arms across his chest, stopping her in her tracks.  
  
"Don't touch me."  
  
Hermione flinched. "The Harry Potter I knew wasn't this cold," she said, mostly to herself.  
  
"The Harry Potter you knew was sent away to Azkaban months ago."  
  
"Dammit, Harry! I said I was sorry! Please, you have to forgive me! I just want it to be like it used to be. I want the old Harry back." She stepped towards him, tentatively. "He needs to come back home, back to Hogwarts. He needs to be with his friends again."  
  
"What friends? Oh, you mean the people who turned their backs on me when I needed it most? The people who betrayed me in the worst way possible? You were going to send me to Azkaban, Hermione. You were going to lock me in a cell with my worst fear. You were going to let me be tormented with the memory of my parent's death every single fucking day. If that's friendship, then I'd rather be alone."  
  
"I'm sorry, Harry," she repeated. She was shaking now, almost hysterical. "I'm so sorry. I was just so confused. Everyone was telling me that you were guilty! I didn't know what to believe!"  
  
"So you took the word of corrupt government over the word of your best friend."  
  
"But even Dumbledore was – "  
  
"Do you think I fucking care what Dumbledore was saying! You were my best friend! I thought that I could count on you for everything! When I found out that I was being accused of murder, I wrote to you first. I needed you to believe me. I thought that if I still had you on my side, everything would turn out alright. But, you didn't respond. You didn't even give me a reason. At least Ron at least sent me a letter telling me that he hated me. It was like you couldn't even be bothered to think about me anymore; after all we had been through together." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crumpled envelope. "You sent back my letter."  
  
"You still have – "  
  
"Yeah." He laughed bitterly. "A reminder of what friendship really is." He spun around and started back out the door.  
  
"Harry?" Hermione ran up to the entryway and watched as his figure descended the stairs.  
  
"My name is Denicalias." And he disappeared into the night.


	20. 19 Untainted and Marked

**A/N: I know the chapter title is a bit of a contridiction, but ... it's what fits. See another Author's Note at the end of this chapter.**

****

**CH19: Untainted and Marked**

Teresa Johansson swore as she exited the Bronze that night. It was already two o'clock and she had to get up early for work the next morning. Why she had let her friends talk her in to staying so late she would never know. She fumbled through her purse for her cell-phone, preparing to call her sister and tell her she was on the way home. But she never got a chance.

A long arm wrapped around her neck, snapping it. It pulled her into the shadows. The alleyway was momentarily illuminated, throwing shadows around the walls.

Anyone looking out the windows at that moment would see a six-foot tall figure leaning over the prone form of a young woman. The glow was coming from her, swirling around the pair. Then there was darkness.

* * *

Harry walked around the perimeter created by the yellow police tape. A body covered with a sheet was being led off the scene.

He sighed to himself. This was the seventh murder that had occurred in the area. And each was exactly the same. The victim was found, lying on the cold cement, eyes wide open and glassy and fearful. Not a mark on them.

It was the same effect the Avada Kedavra curse had.

But, after every incident, he had done a magical scan of the air. There was no trace of the spell being cast. It just didn't make sense.

Taking one last look at the street, Harry took off. He had to get to school.

* * *

Flame watched as Harry came into the library, where they had taken to meeting during lunch period. She gave him a concerned look. Ever since his trip back to Hogwarts two months ago, he had been distracted. She couldn't blame him, though. It must be hard to leave someone you once loved.

Yes, she was sure that Harry had been in love with Hermione. He may never have admitted it to himself, but … it was obvious that he had cared for the girl deeply at one time.

Harry slid into the chair next to her.

"Find anything this morning?" she asked.

"Same as always. One mysteriously healthy girl. Only problem is that she's dead." He looked around the room. "Where are Draco and Dawn?"

"They said they had to talk to Mr. Kennewick. They'll be here later."

* * *

Dawn moaned as Draco pushed her up against the wall and started kissing her neck.

"Hold on, Draco." She slowly pushed him away. "We're supposed to be in the library right now."

"Screw the library. We'll go in a few minutes." He moved forwards, knocking over a mop in the crowded closet.

Dawn shook her head. "We can't keep doing this. We have to tell Harry and Alex." Draco pouted. "Don't look at me like that. Harry's your best friend, he should know."

"I know. We have to tell him soon anyway. It's almost summer vacation, so there will be no more broom closets to sneak around in." She swatted his arm and he laughed. "Alright, alright. Seriously. We'll tell them tonight."

* * *

"Where have you two been?" Harry asked, eyes twinkling mischievously. He quickly took in their messy hair and rumpled clothes, and smiled to himself.

"We were … catching up on some missing homework assignments for Spanish," Draco explained quickly. Flame and Harry shared a look.

Harry wryly rolled his eyes, causing Flame to giggle. _'I can't believe they really think we don't know what's going. We live in the same house, for Merlin's sake!'_ It had been a relief when Draco and Dawn had stopped showering each other with desperately longing looks three weeks ago, but it was getting ridiculous that they still hadn't told anyone that they were dating. However, it did make for an interesting betting pool among the group.

"So, did you go by the Bronze this morning?" asked Draco as the pair settled into their regular seats. Harry's eyes darkened.

"Yeah. We've got another one on our hands."

"Are we any closer to figuring out what's been causing it?" Dawn inquired.

Flame answered. "Nope. The only thing that seems to match is the Killing Curse, but ..." She trailed off.

"If they weren't dead, I'd say it was a Dementor," added Harry, mulling over the subject. "Do we know of any other creatures that suck a person's soul out?"

Flame shrugged. "I can look." She made a note of it on a small index card she was carrying. "Has Willow found any pattern between the victims?"

"Not yet." He rubbed his forehead. "I'll drop off the new report with Giles this afternoon." He turned to Draco. "How did patrolling go last night? You got in so late that I didn't get a chance to ask …"

"It was uneventful. Three vamps ambushed me down by Lexington Street. Buffy said she was hit by four near the center of town."

"Same here. There seems to be an odd amount of bloodsuckers in the area lately." Harry absentmindedly ran a finger along the scar marring his cheek.

"Did someone say my name?"

They turned around to see Odd standing there, in all her mismatched glory. She was wearing a long flowery skirt, stripped tights, and a polka dotted shirt. Harry smiled. This strange girl always seemed to have a way of brightening up the day.

"Come and join us, Odd?" He pulled out an empty chair for her.

"No thanks. I have a letter to write to my cousin."

"How is she?"

"Wonderful. She and my uncle are traveling to Sweden this summer to look for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks!"

"Oh?" He looked amused.

"Yes. And they said that I might be able to come with them!"

"That's great, Odd." She grinned and practically skipped out of the library.

Draco watched her leave. "What is a Crumple-Horned Snorkack?"

"No idea." Draco opened his mouth again, but was interrupted by a tapping sound at the window. There was an owl out there.

Checking to make sure that the librarian didn't have a good view of the window, Flame stood up and went over to it. She pushed open the glass and the owl dropped a letter into her hands, before taking off again. She glanced at the envelope.

"It's for you, Harry." She handed it to him. Taking one look at the flowing script on the front of the letter, he threw it onto the table.

"Burn it," he said decisively.

"Why?" asked Dawn. "Who's it from?"

"Dumbledore."

"You should at least open it, Harry," Draco pointed out. "At least see what it has to say."

"No news is good news."

"But what if it's bad news," he pressed. "Wouldn't you rather find out now?"

"I hate it when you're right," Harry grumbled. And he reached for the letter.

_Dear Harry,_ the parchment read.

_After our unfortunate encounter in my office, I understand that I am the last person you wish to hear from. So I shall make this brief._

_Peter Pettigrew has escaped from Azkaban. We have word that he has returned to his former master. Please be on the look-out for him._

_Once again, I am sorry, Harry._

_Albus Dumbledore_

"I knew this couldn't be good news." At his friends' looks he continued. "Pettigrew somehow got out of prison. One guess as to where he is now." The bell rang. "We should be getting to class."

* * *

Back at Hogwarts …

Sirius looked at the paper in disgust. "That dirty, rotten rat has managed to weasel his way out again!" Remus looked at his sympathetically.

"It'll be alright, Pad – " The door of the classroom opening cut him off.

"And speaking of weasels," muttered Sirius as Ron Weasley entered.

"Can I talk to you?" the red-haired boy asked, looking strangely humble.

"Of course, Mr. Weasley," answered Remus. "Our door is always open." Sirius shot his friend an incredulous look. His door was most certainly not open to this child. Not after the way he had treated Harry!

Ron closed the door behind him and approached the desk. "It's just – I – well, I – "

Remus smiled gently. "What is it, Mr. Weasley?"

He rolled up the sleeve of his sweater. "I think I did a stupid thing."

The Dark Mark was tattooed on his arm.

* * *

"Pettigrew showed up at last night's meeting," Ron explained as he sat in the Headmaster's office with the two former Marauders. Dumbledore sat in front of him, hands resting on his desk, his eyes grave. "He was all torn up and sick looking." Sirius made a noise of contentment and Remus elbowed him. "I thought the Dark Lord would welcome him back in, that we'd celebrate the returning of one of our own. But he was tortured. The Dark Lord said that Pettigrew had failed him and that this was what happened to failures." He looked at the Headmaster pleadingly. "Please. I don't want to be like them. I thought I did, but …"

"This is a very serious thing, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore began. "Once one takes the Dark Mark, it is almost impossible for one to get out again." Ron whimpered. "You have one of two options. The first, we put you into protective custody, at least until Voldemort is defeated. Two, you become a spy for our side. The choice is yours, Mr. Weasley."

Ron looked at his hands. "Are you going to tell my parents?"

"I have to."

He swallowed loudly. "I'm supposed to be a Gryffindor, you know. The House of the brave. And the brave don't run and hide." Slowly, he raised his eyes to meet the Headmasters'. "What do I have to do?"

Dumbledore stood up and walked over to the fireplace, throwing a pinch of Floo Powder into the flames. "Severus Snape."

* * *

**A/N: Yes, Ron is a spy. I have no idea how that happened. These last two scenes just appeared when I decided that this chapter wasn't long enough. Strange how characters just sometimes take over their own lives ...**


	21. 20 Knowledge

**A/N: Hmmm ... I thought the site would be down today? Ah, well, I'm not complaining! Anyway, this chapter's a little shorter than I wanted it to be, but I have to get up early tomorrow. I'm taking my permit test. Yay!**

****

**This chapter is Dedicated to Per, who had a birthday ... well, yesterday I guess since it's after midnight. Happy B-day, Per!**

CH20: Knowledge

"A creature that sucks out souls?" Giles asked when Harry approached him with the idea. "I'll have to take a look, but nothing comes to mind ..."

"It's just a hunch," explained Harry. "It could be nothing."

"Still, this merits looking into." He left the room, muttering to himself. Harry sat down on the couch and sighed. He had a paper to write for tomorrow's English class and only two hours before he was due to start patrolling. '_Oh, well'_, he thought as he pulled out a pencil and a notebook. '_Better get started.'_

"Harry?"

He mentally groaned at the interruption. "What is it?"

Dawn cleared her throat nervously and clutched onto Draco's hand. "We have something to tell you –"

"You and Draco have been secretly dating and sneaking around between classes and you really need to learn to cover the hickies on your neck better," he stated, without taking his eyes of the paper. The pair blanched. "And I won, Xander."

Xander came around the corner. "No fair, you said it for them. I was looking forward to seeing Spike Jr. here squirm."

"I do not look like fang-man! My hair is natural!" Draco shouted at the same time Dawn said, "I can't hide my hickies?!? Well, we'll see about that tomorrow! Come on, Draco!" She pulled his arm and dragged him out of the room.

Harry rolled his eyes.

* * *

Gritting his teeth, Harry pulled the sliver of wood from his arm. _'That's the last time I ever fight anything near a picnic table.'_

He walked down the road, looking forward to a few hours of sleep before school, when a sudden chill racked down his spine. Slowly turning around, he eyes his surroundings. He didn't see anything, but there was the distinct feeling that he was being watched.

A low, eerie music filled the air, causing Harry to experience the exact opposite of when he heard the Phoenix song. His skin crawled. The air sifted slightly and a breeze blew through his hair. Leaves crackled at his feet. A woman screamed. There –

Wait a second. What?!?

In a second, Harry was running towards the sound. The music grew louder, causing blood to pound in his ears. A slight glow illuminated the path ahead of him and he could barely make out a large, dark figure. When he reached the spot, both the man and the song were gone, leaving a dead body behind.

* * *

"Her name was Jamie Michaels," Harry said, leaning back into the chair. "I recognized her from school."

"And her murder was the same as the others?" questioned Giles.

"As far as I can tell." Harry hesitated a bit. "There is one thing. I heard – I heard this ... music ..."

"Buffy, didn't you overhear the police talking to that woman who was with her boyfriend when he was attacked?" Flame asked. Buffy nodded. "Did she remember any ..."

"No. She was drifting in and out of consciousness, but all she could remember was light." She shot Harry an apologetic look. "Sorry."

Suddenly, Giles' eyes light up. "Hold on, I think I've got something." He rushed out of the room.

'_Just like Hermione used to,'_ Harry realized with a pang in his chest.

He sprinted back into the room, an old decaying book in hand. "Here!" He stopped to catch his breath, before reading out loud:

"_A Brozac Demon is one of the many monsters that walk the Earth that are capable of blending in with human beings, making it easier for them to hunt. The reports of this demons feeding activities go back all the way to the 13th centuries B.C. A Brozac Demon kills its victims by, literally, sucking the life out of them. There is no warning of this attack. However, magically inclines people are likely to hear a deep, rueful song before he goes in for the kill. This song is said to be comprised of the demon's victims' grief and the pain he or she experienced in life, but whether or not this is true has yet to be proven._

"That's it."

"Magically inclined?" Draco said in disbelief. "Who talks like that?"

"Now, I took the liberty of looking Brozac demons up and I have found that there is a more complete reference to them in a book called 'The Travels of Mendrak,'" Giles continued, ignoring the blond-haired boy.

"Where can we find this book?" asked Harry. Giles looked pensive.

"It's a rare book, only a few copies left in the world – "

Draco cut him off. "I know where we can find one." The room looked at him.

"What?!?"

He bit his lip. "However ... it'd highly guarded."

"So?" smirked Harry.

"Deni, you don't understand."

"Then explain it to me."

"If you needed to hide something very valuable in the wizarding world, where would you put it?"

"Gringotts?" he suggested weakly, his heart plummeting.

Draco shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"It always has to be bloody Hogwarts," Harry grumbled.

* * *

**A/N: Yup! Back to Hogwarts once more! Maybe I should just make them stay there ...**

**Harry: No! Please don't! I don't think I can stand any more lemon drops!**

**Oooh, that's a good torture threat for the next time you decide not to listen to me.**

**Harry: - whimpers -**

**Draco: Stop being mean to poor, defencless Harry.**

**Harry: I am NOT defensless!**

**Draco: - pats him on the head - Sure you aren't.**

**Harry: - growls and pulls out wand -**

**Draco: - panicking - Now, now, Harry, put that away. You could poke someone's eye out!**

**Harry: Mulletus Fullioso!**

**Draco: - grows a mullet - Ahhhhhh!**

**Boys, boys, stop bickering. And, Draco dear, your hair doesn't look that bad ... - snickers -**

**Draco: - sulks -**

**Harry: - smirks -**

**Draco: - glares - You'll get yours, Harry, when we go back to the castle next chapter!**

**Harry: - whines - Devvy, please don't make us go! I'll be good, I promise!**

**Your starting to sound like Xirb. And the answer is no. It's not like I want you guys to go back, but Weasley decided to become a Death Eater and now I have to fix his mess.**

**Ron: - pouts - Don't blame me for this. You wrote me this way!**

**All I know is that when I planned this story, you were not a Death Eater. Actually, you weren't really there much at all ...**

**Ron: Then it serves you right that I'm a Death Eater! You shouldn't have written me out of the story!**

**I didn't write you out, you just sort of disapeared ...**

**Severus: Hey, do I get to be in the next chapter! Because I haven't said anything in a long time.**

**Don't worry. I can't have a spy to spy chat without you! Now, everyone, if you would -**

**Everyone: Read and Review please!**

**Ah, they are so polite, so well trained. - doesn't notice Harry and Draco laughing as they curse her hair bright, Weasley red - **


	22. 21 The Mind Of A Madman

**A/N: Headache plus Annoying brother = Very strange beginning to a chapter. I hope you guys like it anyway.**

CH21: The Mind Of A Madman

"My Lord." Red hair falling across a freckled face.

Odd's wide, glassy eyes.

A sword dripped in blood.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to join these two people in holy matrimony."

"Harry?"

"What gives you the power to dictate our lives? Who made you God? We have the right to make our own decisions."

"Hello, Clover-eyes. I've been looking forward to our meeting again."

"Cho! Watch out!"

"I can't bear to lose you, too."

"Sirius, I can look after myself."

"I'm – I'm sorry." Blood stained lips.

"Harry?"

"Sometimes I can't tell if it's worth it, Draco. All the death, all the destruction. When will it end?"

"It's too late. He's changed."

"Ah, Potter. It's good to know one of us is alive and well."

"Even you could never gain immortal life."

The stake fell to the ground with a resounding thump.

"Harry?"

"Harry?"

"Harry!"

Harry sat straight up in bed.

"Harry, wake up!" Draco's voice called up the stairs. "We have to leave for England in a few minutes!"

"Be – be right down!" he called back, shaking his head.

'_What just happened?'_

_

* * *

_

"Come in," Severus said in response to the knock on his door. "Weasley, you're late." He didn't look up from his papers until he heard them.

"Ouch, that's a hurtful comparison, Severus," said Draco, leaning against the doorframe. Harry stood behind him.

"Aren't you going to invite us in?" Harry asked, eyes twinkling.

Severus actually smiled. "How are you two?" He ushered the boys in: Draco playing with some vials on the edge of the desk, Harry perched next to them.

"Could be worst – " Harry stared, before the door opened again.

"Sorry I'm late, Pro – "Ron stopped dead, fear on his face. "Ha – Harry!"

"Hello, Weasley," Harry said evenly. "What brings you down to the dungeons this late at night?"

Severus stared at the Gryffindor's horror filled face and snorted. "If you are terrified at the sight of Harry here, how do you ever expect to fool the Dark Lord?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry looked from Severus to Ron, dawning appearing in his eyes. He jumped of the desk and yanked up Ron's arm. "Idiot," he snarled.

"Harry – " Severus said, placating.

"What were you thinking?!?" Harry yelled, forgetting that he didn't care what his ex-friend did anymore. "Were you even – "Slowly, his eyes widened and he collapsed into the chair.

"_My Lord." Red hair falling across a freckled face._

_Ron Weasley bowing in front of Voldemort._

"Oh Merlin." He bolted from the dungeons.

* * *

"Are you sure that's what you saw?" Draco asked again.

"Positive." Harry sat in the deserted library, flipping through a book.

"But you've had visions before. Why are you so surprised?"

"These were different somehow. They felt ... I dunno. They felt like they weren't mine."

"So what are you looking for?"

"Something to explain it."

"But you don't even know where to search!"

"I have to try."

"Deni." He pulled the black-haired boy by the arm. "We have a reason to be here. Remember?"

"Yeah." He looked back at the book and shook his head. "Where is the tomb were looking for anyway?"

"The Headmaster's office."

"Perfect. Just perfect."

* * *

"Cockroach Clusters?"

"Jelly bellies?"

"You really like that Muggle candy, don't you, Im."

"It's so addicting."

"Lemon Drops?" Harry tried and the statue jumped aside. "I should have known."

Draco eyed the door. "Should we knock?"

Harry shrugged. "Do you want to break in to one of he most powerful men in the world's office or do you want to get this book legally?"

Draco quickly knocked.

"Chicken."

"Again, there was a reason you were put into Gryffindor while I was put into Slytherin."

"Come in," said Dumbledore through the door. He looked shocked when he saw who was disturbing him this time of night. "Harry?"

"Headmaster," Harry said stiffly.

"Er, - "Draco gazed at the anger barely concealed on Harry's face. "We were wondering, Professor, if you had a copy of 'The Travels of Mendrak'?"

"Mr. Malfoy." A little surprise showed on the old wizards face. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy. That book disappeared several months ago." He looked squarely at Harry. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you are," Harry said and turned to leave the office.

"Wait." Harry stopped at Draco's word. "Do you happen to have any books on prophetic dreams?" Harry shot him a grateful look.

"I was wondering if you'd be looking for that," said Dumbledore, just loud enough for them to hear. Harry saw red.

"Why? What is it this time?" He gritted his teeth.

"Harry, calm down. I didn't know it was going to happen until an agent of mine brought back the information a couple days ago."

"Weasley?"

"You know about that?" He smiled ruefully. "Of course you do."

"So what's happening, Dumbledore?"

"Harry, Tom Riddle is clairvoyant."

"The connection," Harry finished, connecting the dots.

"Yes, Harry."

"So, I'm sharing his visions now?"

"It would appear so."

Harry headed for the door again, Draco right on his heals. They needed to have a chat with a certain red-headed lion.


	23. 22 When Paths Converge

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, folks. This chapter just wouldn't fit together right and somehow, once again, took a turn that I didn't plan. - sighs - Oh, well. It's a slightly longer chapter to make up for the wait!**

CH22: When Paths Converge

Harry stared at the empty portrait frame. A small trickle of music sifted through the hole. There was a party going on inside Gryffindor Tower and the Fat Lady was nowhere to be found.

"Hmmm," Harry shrugged a bit to brightly. "Too bad. Guess we can't go in." He turned to leave.

Draco grabbed his arm. "Nice try, Deni."

"Come on, Im. We don't even know if he is in there."

"Severus said he came back up here. And he wasn't anywhere else we looked."

"But ... I really don't want to go back." Harry looked up at his friend, his eyes wide and vulnerable. Draco just squeezed his shoulder.

"There isn't anything scary about the Gryffindors. Sure, they're uncultured barbarians and they smell funny, but ..."

Harry smiled. "Alright." He took a deep breath. "You're coming in with me, right?"

"Are you kidding?" He gave Harry an incredulous look. "I'd be lynched! Those Gryffs are truly terrifying!"

Harry mock-glared at him and chuckled ruefully, before raising a hand and knocking on the empty portrait. Unsteady footsteps made their way over to the door.

"Who'sssss is it?" a muffled, slurred voice asked.

"I'm looking for Weasley," he answered bluntly.

"Who?"

"Ronald Weasley," Harry said slowly.

"Which'un is dat?"

Draco snorted and Harry rolled his eyes. "He's got red hair and freckles. He's tall."

"Tha' could be any of d'em!" the voice exclaimed.

"He's got an ego the size of a watermelon and the brain the size of a peanut," he explained patiently.

"Oh! Dat one! Ginny, where your broder at?" A distinctly feminine voice answered back.

"Upstairs, Dean!"

"Thanks! He upstairs, Dean!" Dean yelled through the wall. Harry groaned.

"Just open up the damn portrait!"

"Why didn't ya say so in da firs' place?" The entrance opened and a very tipsy Dean Thomas fell out into Harry's arms. He looked groggily up at the person holding him.

"'arry?"

Harry pushed Dean back inside the room and carefully propped him up against the wall. He surveyed the Common Room before his with a slight smirk.

"Illegal underage drinking? Tsk tsk tsk. What would your mommies and daddies say?" He shook a finger at them and the music and talking stopped.

"And I though Gryffindors were supposed to be good little boys and girls," Draco said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"'arry?" Dean repeated, swaying slightly. "Why are dere two of ya?" He fell forward again, Harry barely catching him before he hit the floor. Harry pulled him standing again and led him over to the couch, aware that the eyes of the entire room were following them.

"Sit," Harry commanded, dropping him onto the squishy couch. "Stay. Good boy." He patted Dean on the head and turned to a gob smacked Ginny. "He's upstairs then?"

Ginny opened her mouth slightly, confused, before realization spread across her face. "You're looking for, Ron?" He nodded. "You aren't going to hurt him, are you?"

"Why, that thought hadn't even crossed my mind! But that's a good idea!"

Draco laughed at the look on the red-haired girl's face. "Harry, stop tormenting the littler Weasley. We have other things to do."

Harry pouted. "But I was having so much fun."

"He ran up there about twenty minutes ago, looking like he had seen a ghost," Neville replied from a chair over by the window.

"Doesn't he see ghosts everyday?" Draco looked puzzled.

"It's an expression, Malfoy."

"Thanks, Nev," Harry interrupted, climbing the boy's dormitory stairs. He reached the top of the tower, a door marked 5th year boys, and went in.

Shaking off the wave of nostalgia he got from being in his old home, Harry walked up to Ron's bed and shook the drawn curtains. His ex-friend's irritated voice wafted out of them.

"Go away."

Harry shook them again and the voice got louder.

"Come on, I need my rest for the game tomorrow."

"I don't think all the rest in the world will help you," Harry dryly replied and the curtains were abruptly ripped back.

"Harry?" Ron gazed up at him fearfully. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to ask you something."

"If you came to yell at me some more about what I did, forget it. I've heard it all from Snape."

"Actually, I need to know what you heard about Voldemort's visions."

Ron visibly flinched at the name. "Why?"

"You tell me what you know, and maybe I'll tell you what I know."

He sighed. "It was the first night I was a spy. I was ... nervous about going to the meeting that night. I was so sure that the Dark Lord would take one look at me and know that I had betrayed him. But it was cancelled that night. Apparently, something had happened to make the Dark Lord unavailable for the night. I was getting ready to leave when I heard them ... "

* * *

"_What is going on, Malfoy?" a hoarse voice demanded. "What has happened to our Master?"_

"_Did you get it?"_

"_Of course I got it. Dumbledore doesn't ward his office carefully enough. But you are changing the subject. What hap – "_

"_Quiet! The same thing as always, you idiot."_

"_What was it about this time?"_

"_Potter. Potter can see them, too."_

_There was an intake of air. "Are you sure?"_

"_Our Lord is never wrong! You would do well to remember that!"_

"_Yes, sir. But if Potter can see our Lord's visions, will he know – "_

"_There are too many ears around here. Let's go discuss this somewhere more privately."_

_

* * *

_

__

"I told Professor Dumbledore what I heard as soon as I got back here," he finished.

Harry was lost in thoughts, but now he had an even bigger problem on his mind. "You said they mentioned taking something from Dumbledore's office."

"Ah, yeah." Ron looked confused. "But I thought you wanted to know about the vis – "

"Did you tell him?"

"Yes. He said a book from his personal collection was missing."

"The Travels of Mendrak," Harry whispered.

Ron's eyes widened. "That's it! How did you know?"

Harry ignored him. "Did Dumbledore seem worried that this book was gone?"

"No, it wasn't as big a deal as – "

"Thanks, Weasley." Harry stood up and left.

"But Harry – " The door closing blocked out the rest of the sentence.

Harry rushed down the stairs. Draco stood in the entrance of the Common Room, polishing his wand, and sending the slightly afraid Gryffindors menacing looks.

"Everything go well, Harry?" Draco called when he saw his friend coming back down.

"Do you know any good spells to get blood stains of the ceiling?" Harry mentioned off-handedly. At Ginny's gasp, he went on. "Just kidding. I left him in all one piece. See you, Neville!" He waved at Neville as he and Draco left.

"Hey, slow down, Deni," Draco panted, struggling to keep up with Harry's quick strides despite the Hunter training he had.

"Voldemort stole the book," he said without preamble. Draco lengthened his steps without question and they rushed back to the Headmaster's office.

* * *

Harry burst into the office without knocking. They seemed to have intruded on some sort of meeting. Harry brushed past his former teachers, the Weasleys, and some he recognized as Aurors and leaned over the Headmaster's desk.

"The Travels of Mendrak was stolen by Voldemort?" Several in the room jumped at the name.

"Yes. It was a great literary loss," Dumbledore answered, sounding slightly annoyed. "What is this about, Mr. Potter?"

Even more occupants jumped at the sound of this name and scrutinized the young man before them even closer.

"Are there any other copies in the world?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "They were destroyed centuries ago."

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose, dreading asking the next question, although he knew he must. "Is Voldemort's Headquarters still the Riddle house?"

Sirius stood up from the corner of the room. "What are you doing, Harry?"

Harry slowly glanced over to his godfather. "What I have to do, Sirius." He turned back to the Headmaster. "Well, is it?"

"Yes, but – "

Harry cut him off. "Draco?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry to have to ask you this again, but ... Do you want to break in to one of he most powerful men in the world's office or do you want to get this book legally?"

Draco smirked. "I'm a Slytherin. Do you really have to ask?"

* * *

**Sorry for the slight cliffhanger, but I'll try not to make you wait as long this time.**


	24. 23 Responsibilities

**A/N: Sorry this isn't that long, but I am blowing off so much to write just this chapter, so it will have to do. I'll try to write more later this week, but no promises. Anyway, I miss answering my reviewers' questions, so if anyone has any questions, comments, or criticism, leave your e-mail address in your review and I will get back to you ASAP. Enjoy the chapter!**

CH23: Responsibilities

_Previous Chapter: Harry cut him off. "Draco?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I'm sorry to have to ask you this again, but ... Do you want to break in to one of he most powerful men in the world's office or do you want to get this book legally?"_

_Draco smirked. "I'm a Slytherin. Do you really have to ask?"_

"Harry – " Sirius began, but Draco interrupted him.

"How do you want to do this?"

Harry bit his lip and thought. It was a risky move, but it just might work. He smiled and pointed his wand at his throat, magnifying his voice to be heard throughout the entire school.

"Would Mr. Ronald Weasley please report to the Headmasters office?" he announce. "Mr. Ronald Weasley report to the Headmaster's office. Thank you."

"You can't do this, Harry," Dumbledore explained calmly.

Harry returned his voice to normal. "Watch me."

Draco frowned. "Why do we need Weasley?"

"Because he can afford to have his cover blown. Severus can't."

Several light bulbs clicked on over the heads of some of the room's occupants. "Do you think that is wise?" Severus asked quietly.

"Think what is wise?" Mrs. Weasley asked, bewildered.

"It's not up to what I think," he responded. "It's his decision if he wants to help or not."

"Help with what?" she asked again.

"He will," said Draco gloomily.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?!?" she finally exploded.

"Mum?" Ron had arrived.

"Ronald," she turned to her son. "Why would they need your help to steal something from the Dark Lord?" Ron looked vaguely ashamed.

Harry's eyes widened. "She doesn't know?" He turned to Dumbledore. "You didn't tell her?!?"

"Tell me what?" She looked afraid to ask.

"I – " Ron gazed at the floor. "You've got to understand. I was angry, Mum! When Harry left, I finally got all the attention that I had always wanted. And then they found him innocent and no one paid attention to be anymore. I just wanted to be noticed, so I ... "

Harry felt bile rising in his throat. Ron, his ex-best friend Ron, had joined Voldemort because he felt neglected, because he, Harry, had always stolen the spotlight.

'_It's my fault Ron became a Death Eater,'_ he thought despondently. He didn't even realize he had called Ron by his first name.

After several minutes of silence, Draco became fed up. "Oh, honestly, what he is trying miserably to say is that he took the Dark Mark." There was a collective gasp that indicated that Mrs. Weasley wasn't the only one who didn't know.

"Draco," Harry said between clenched teeth. Draco shot him a weird look.

"Ron, is this ... is this true?" Mr. Weasley asked, taking his place next to his wife. He nodded fearfully and Mrs. Weasley collapsed sobbing on her husband's shoulder. For the first time, Harry noticed that Bill, Charlie, and Percy were all sitting at the back of the room, stricken looks on their faces.

Eventually, Mrs. Weasley's deep shuddering sobs slowed down and she looked up, glaring. Only, she wasn't glaring at Ron; she was glaring at Dumbledore.

"How could you not tell me?" she shouted in his face. "He is my son!" She turned accusingly at the room. "Who else knew?"

Reluctant at facing the wrath of Mrs. Weasley, Harry raised his hand, along with Draco, Sirius, Remus, Severus, and Minerva.

As Mrs. Weasley puffed up to yell again, Ron stepped forward. "I'm – " He took a deep breath. "I am so sorry, Mum."

"Oh, baby," she pulled him into a hug. "It's alright. I still love you."

Harry felt a pang in his chest and had to turn away. He didn't notice the Headmaster's blue eyes watching him sadly.

* * *

"You should have kept your mouth shut, Im," Harry said quietly, very much aware of the crowd in the room watching them. Ron sat with his family in the other end of the room, having a soft conversation themselves.

Draco looked puzzled. "What?"

"You should have let Ron tell his mother what he did himself."

"What do you care? And since when is he Ron again?"

"That's not the point."

"Oh Merlin." Dawning appeared in his eyes. "You feel responsible!" Harry didn't respond. "Deni, it's not you fault."

"Fine, it's not my fault," he mocked bitterly. "Just like it is not my fault that Cedric is dead, or my parents!"

"Deni." He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know you have a tendency to take the weight of the world on your shoulders, but this – is – not – your – fault. Weasley made his own choices, you had nothing to do with it, understand?"

"Yeah," he took a deep breath and smiled at his friend. "You're right."

"Of course. I am always right." He shined his fingernails on his shirt arrogantly. Harry laughed.

"Thanks, Im."

"Anytime."


	25. 24 Riddles and Rhymes

**Xirleb70 reports: Beta'ed Version 2.0**

**Chapter 24: Riddles and Rhymes**

_It has been said that vampires have plagued the Earth since the beginning of time. They are like locusts: endlessly feeding, destroying, and creating more of their kind to join them in the endless quest to bring devastation on the world. A never halting preparation for their next feast._

_And it is true._

_But, there has also always been something standing in their way. Something to prevent their complete and utter annihilation of life as we know. These protectors have changed over the years, some failing to save us, some succeeding. But always training and preparing for that final confrontation._

_Even if they lose, they are always ready for it._

"OUCH!!!"

"Quiet!"

"Don't tell me to be quiet! You're the one who stepped on my heel!"

"I didn't know I was stepping on your heel. You're invisible!"

"I said _quiet_!"

"Excuses, excuses."

"Stop whining or I'll _give_ you something to whine about!"

"Shut up!" Harry growled, watching with smug satisfaction as the arguing pair fell silent. "You'll give away out position." He turned to a glowering Draco who was rubbing his ankle. "Im, I thought you knew better than that."

"Sorry, Deni." He waited until Harry turned away before making a cutting motion across his throat and mouthing 'Watch Yourself' at Ron.

Ron gulped and inched away.

"Now," Harry continued sweetly. "Where is this entrance?"

The three of them were standing outside the Riddle House. Harry glanced warily around, keeping his eyes open for dangers and trying to keep his eyes _off_ the graveyard at the base of the hill.

"Just through here," said Ron cautiously, tapping his fist against a lose plank in the wall. A small opening appeared and the group wasted no time sneaking in. "There is a meeting in the main chamber tonight, so no one should be around the Dark Lord's office. That's where the book is."

"Lead the way."

Voldemort stood high atop the dais, surveying his bowing minions. '_Scum_', he thought cynically and held his head highly in the air.

"My faithful-" he began and stopped short. Murmurings rang throughout the room. "Quiet!" Voldemort hissed and the corrugation fell silent. He sniffed the air, a slow smirk winding its way across his pale face.

"Potter," he whispered.

"It's unlocked," Draco said quietly and pushed the office door open. Harry cautiously stepped onto the plush green carpet.

"I don't like this," he announced, glancing around suspiciously. "It's too easy."

"Maybe Voldemort thought that the protections surrounding the house were enough to keep out any intruders that he didn't bother warding his office," Draco suggested logically.

Harry shook his head, eyes darting apprehensively about. "He should have at least set up some walls against traitors. Even Voldemort isn't arrogant enough to believe that no one in his ranks is working against him."

"I've got it." The two hunters spun around to face Ron. He had a deep burgundy tome clutched in his fist. "It was on the desk."

"You're right," said Draco. "This _is_ too easy. Let's get out of here."

Voldemort cackled gleefully, sending a wave of shudders through the following. He gazed into the shadows.

"You were right," he announced. "He has come."

He was only answered by a maniacal laughter that echoed against the walls.

Harry winced as Ron stepped on a creaky floorboard in the downstairs hallway. "Are you sure this is the only way out?"

Ron nodded regretfully. "The passageway on the North wall is only good one-way. We have to leave through the front."

"Weasley?" Draco asked, a strange sound in his voice. "What are through those doors?"

"That's the meeting hall," Ron explained.

"And didn't you say there was a meeting tonight?"

"Yes … why?"

"If there is a meeting, then why is it so quiet?"

A sharp pain hit Harry's chest, sending liquid fire coursing through his veins. "It's a trap," he managed to shout as he hit the ground. "Run!"

An insane laughed filled his ears as bright white light danced in his vision.


	26. 25 White Becomes Black

**CH25: Black Becomes White**

Harry jerked awake to an unpleasant splash of icy water. He opened his eyes blearily, wondering what the hell he did last night that could make him feel like this. He opened his mouth to ask Draco if he was awake.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Potter."

Harry head snapped up. He was lying against a rough stone wall, his hands shackled to the cool stone behind his back. Standing before him was Voldemort himself, looking down distastefully.

Images from the raid flashed back to Harry and he quickly scanned the room for his friends to no avail: he could barely see two feet in front of him, never mind the other side of the room.

"They are not here," Voldemort answered smugly, as though he was reading Harry's thoughts.

"They– they escaped?"

"Lucius was so disappointed. He had been looking forward to a family reunion with his son."

"He doesn't deserve to call Draco his son after what he did to him!" Harry spat out vehemently, pushing away his fear at the situation he had found himself in.

"And what exactly did he do?" asked Voldemort, earning a puzzled look from Harry. Voldemort frowned again, his brow furrowing. Voldemort sighed. "Never mind that, we'll have time for questions later. Right now, I want you to meet a friend of mine." Voldemort snapped his fingers and the door sprang open. "Rasbastan, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Harry Potter. I'm sure you two will have… _fun_ while I'm gone." With a turn, he swept out of the room, robes billowing out behind him.

Rasbastan examined Harry slowly, licking his lips slightly. Harry shuddered and looked into the man's cold dark eyes. Suddenly, it clicked.

"You're Rasbastan Lestrange," he breathed, stories of what the man before him had done under Voldemort's last reign filling his head. "You are the one who tortured Neville's parents."

Rasbastan took a mock bow. "I see my reputation precedes me. It's all for the better that I don't have to explain what I do, I suppose." He pulled out his wand and twirled it slightly. "You already know what is going to happen to you now."

Harry nodded, eyes never leaving the wand in front of him. The fear he had ignored before came back full force and he trembled involuntarily. Rasbastan laughed.

"Open wide, Harry, and feel free to scream. No one can hear you now."

* * *

Draco rushed into the front doors of Le Coeur, almost knocking over a couple irritated Hunters as he plowed his way through. Finally, he reached the meeting door where he hoped he would find some Council Members.

He was in luck.

The room was filled will Watchers, all angrily debating something. They fell silent when Draco marched in.

"What is it, Immolo?" Quentin Travers asked impatiently, obviously wishing to get back to the task at hand.

"It's Denicalias, sir," he said, taking a deep breath. "He's been captured by Voldemort's forces."

Some of the magical Watchers trembled at the name. Edge jumped out of her seat and ran to Draco.

"How?" she demanded. Not waiting for an answer, she turned to Travers. "We have to go get him."

"We cannot, Edge," replied Travers, a grimace marring his features, "as you very well know."

"What?" Draco yelled. "We're not going to do _anything_?"

Travers sighed and looked over at the young Hunter. "I am sorry for the lost of your friend, Immolo. It is a terrible thing to lose one of our own in such a way and Denicalias was a brave ally. This is not our war, however, and we cannot get involved."

"Bullshit," Edge growled. She grabbed Draco's arm and head towards the door. "I am not going to stand by while one of my trainees gets killed. If you won't do anything, then I will."

"If you take one step out of this room," Travers warned, "you will not be welcome back."

Draco took in a sharp breath and looked at Edge's determined face.

"_Why did you become a Watcher, Edge?" Draco questioned. He had been training under this woman for three months now and still knew nothing about her. He watched as she sent a final blow at the practice dummy and deactivated it._

"_Why do you ask?" She picked up a towel from the ground, dabbing the sweat away from her face, and took at seat at her desk._

"_You don't seem like the Watcher type," he replied honestly. "I mean…compared to everyone else here. I just wondered how you ended up working here."_

_Edge gave his a piercing glance, and finally nodded. "My father was a Watcher," she began quietly. "When I was sixteen, he was killed in small town outside of London. It was a vampire, I am sure of that, but I never found out who it was. After his death, I was obsessed with revenge. Ever since then, I wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps and make sure that nothing like this happened to anyone ever again."_

She would be losing her dream if she helped Harry and everyone knew it. The room held its collective breath, waiting for her response.

"You'd better start training my replacement then," she finally said. The door slammed, echoing eerily in the stunned meeting hall.

* * *

Harry writhed in pain against the wall. He had never been in so much agony in his entire life; he just wanted it all to end, he wanted all to stop. Rasbastan raised his wand once more and Harry screamed, anticipating the blow.

But it never came.

An insistent knocking came at the door. Rasbastan lowered the wand and looked over at it disappointedly. "Guess our time together is over, Harry," he said sadly. "It's a shame; I was just getting started with some of my more _amusing_ games." He shuffled over to the door and left. Harry was finally alone.

"You have your mother's eyes, Harry."

He jumped at that sound, eyes darting around wildly. "Who– who's there?"

"You have her spirit, too," the voice continued. "I've been watching you. She would have been proud."

Harry strained his senses, trying to figure out where the new voice was coming from. But he heard nothing; no sounds, no movements.

No breathing.

"You're a vampire!"

A tall, lithe man stepped into the dull light of the room. His pale skin gave off an eerie glow that radiated death. But his eyes shined a fierce cerulean and he looked down at Harry with a surprising fondness.

"Yes, Harry." He bared his teeth, morphing into his demon face. "I am."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Draco panted as they reached the edge of the Anti-Apparation wards.

"Hogwarts," she said simply and disappeared. Swearing, Draco Apparated right behind her into the small village of Hogsmeade.

"Why?" he asked as she tore off towards the castle.

"Because," she replied curtly, "Deni has more allies here than anywhere else. Someone here is bound to help us."

They quickly reached the Entry Hall and Draco pulled Edge down the stairs, towards the dungeons. "Severus would be our best bet to start with," he explained. She nodded.

A few moments later, they were banging on the door to the Potion Master's private quarters. Severus answered the door irritably. "What do you-" He stopped, eyes widening as he saw Edge. "Marianna?"

"Severus," she responded softly. Draco gazed between the two of them.

"Do you know each other?" he asked confused.

Edge shot him a pointed look. "Later. Right now, we have more important things to discuss."

Severus recognized her distressed tone immediately and ushered them in. "What has happened?"

"Voldemort has Harry."

* * *

"What do you want with me?" Harry asked, suddenly aware that he was drenched in blood.

"I'm here to help you, Mr. Potter," he said simply and dropped a small round stone into Harry's hand. Harry flinched, almost dropping it. "That is a Portkey. It will activate in exactly thirty minutes from now." He turned to leave.

Questions raced through Harry's mind, each more ludicrous than the one before, but he finally settled on one. "Why are you helping me?"

The Vampire turned back to Harry and smiled at him, switching to his human face. "Because," he said simply, "it is not yet time."

Harry clutched the stone as the door slammed shut.

* * *

"And where is Mr. Weasley now?" Severus asked, rubbing his temples.

"I sent him straight back here and told him to say nothing of what happened tonight," Draco responded. He had just run through what had happened at the Riddle House, and both Severus and Edge looked stressed.

"What are we going to do?" Draco asked when it became clear that no one else was going to speak. "How are we going to get Harry back?"

Severus sighed, looking weary. "I do not know, Draco. I do not know."

Fear gripped at Draco's heart when he saw the defeated look on the Potion Master's face. Severus had been an idol in Draco's mind for as long as he could remember; a worship that was enhanced when he had found out that Severus was not loyal to Voldemort at all, but a spy instead. But to see his mentor look so helpless …

"We have to do something!" he cried, looking slightly hysterical. "They are going to– to-"He could not bring himself to say it.

"Yes, we do." Severus stood up and walked over to the fireplace. He threw a pinch of bright green powder into the flames and shouted, "Headmaster's Office!"

* * *

"Well, well," a cold drawl sounded as its owner entered the room. "What do we have here?"

Harry forced himself to look up and meet the speaker's eyes. He gripped the stone even tighter, knowing that there were only eight minutes until he would be free.

If he vampire was to be trusted, that is.

"Isn't this a wonderful sight? The great Harry Potter cowering on the floor." Lucius Malfoy gave him a deadly smirk and Harry found himself wondering what kind of pain the man could inflict in eight minutes.

Make that seven.

Lucius crouched down in front of him. "How is my son doing these days, Potter?"

Harry just glared at him. _6:13._

"I'd have you pass on my love, but I don't think you'll be seeing him again," Lucius continued.

_5:34._

"I'm sure he'll miss you."

_5:03._

"You two have become quite the team since he left home, haven't you?"

_4:42._

"I wondered how that happened."

"He told me everything," Harry snarled, forgetting his mental countdown. "How you kept him under Imperious for all those years. How you controlled his every move. How does it feel knowing that your own son only loved you because you forced him to?"

But, to his surprise, Lucius did not get angry. He merely smiled.

"Is that what he told you, Potter? Draco was always good at lying. But maybe I should set a few things straight."

"What?"

"I never, not once, put Draco under Imperious."

"You're lying!"

"You think so, Potter?" he challenged. "Would you like to bet on it?"

"He couldn't have-"

"Didn't your Defense teacher instruct you in the Unforgivables last year? Didn't he cast it on all of you? Draco was put under it by Crouch the same as you were. And a person cannot live while under two Imperiouses simultaneously. It will drive them mad."

"But-"

"And Draco is still sane, isn't he? Isn't he?"

"Yes …"

"All of Draco's actions were his own."

"No."

"All of his beliefs and ideals were his own."

"No."

"He was well on his way to being a member of Voldemort's followers when he came of age."

"No."

"He hated Mudbloods like your mother and was planning of ridding the world of them."

"No, no, no-"

"Draco was a Malfoy. And, I hate to inform you, Potter, but Draco was, and still is, very much my son."

"NO!"

A jerk around his navel ripped Harry away from his naivety, and he found that he knew the truth.


	27. 26 Delusional Childhood

**_CH26: Delusional Childhood_**

"_Don't forget the eggs, Jenny!"_

"_I won't, Mother – Oh my!"_

Hanging from the monkey bars, his arms protested loudly against the effort, begging him to let go. He dropped from the air, landing harshly in the sand far below.

"Oi, Potter!" It was a large boy. No, it was an extremely large boy; one that was running towards him. It was Dudley, followed by his friends.

Panic filled him and he sprang to his feet, already running desperately towards the gate. He could hear loud, heavy footsteps close behind him, hot in pursuit. He leapt nimbly over the fence that separated the school from the rest of the outside world, unluckily landing in a prickly bush. A bell rang tremulously in the distance and his would-be captors groaned in disappointment, shuffling back morosely into the school. He sighed, looking despondently at his scraped limbs, panting with relief. Dudley shot him a malicious grin that promised there would be more Harry-hunting to come later.

"_Someone call an ambulance!"_

"_Is he alright?"_

"_He's not breathing!"_

"_Quick, flip him over –"_

"Wake up, you ungrateful wretch!" Harry listened to the loud rapping on his cupboard door. "There is breakfast to be made!"

Slowly, he stood from his small cot and pulled on a sweater. He walked slowly into the kitchen, wincing at the glare his aunt used to pin him in place for a moment.

"Get going," she snapped. Sighing, he walked over to the stove. "And don't burn anything!" Nodding mutely, he did as he was told.

"_How long has he been this way?"_

"_I – I dunno. A couple hours, maybe …"_

"_And you just found him this way?"_

He cautiously approached the ticket booth, pulling the lunch money he had been saving for as long as he could remember out of his pocket. His aunt would kill him if she knew what he was doing. But it was worth the risk.

"One, please," he said timidly to the lady at the counter. She handed him a ticket, smiling. "Thank you."

In the dark of the theater, he gazed rapturously up at the screen, becoming lost in a world of imaginary heroes and swashbuckling pirates that helped him escape from this horrid reality.

"_Child, are you alright?"_

He turned on his cot, hugging the stuffed bear tight to his chest, whimpering from the nightmares.

"_Son, can you hear me?"_

He sprinted through the woods, chancing a glance over his shoulders. He wouldn't be caught, he _couldn't_ be … He hit the log, tripping face down into the dirt, the laughter of his captors echoing in his ears.

"_Wake up."_

"Worthless little freak. You don't deserve to even breathe in the same air as us and you argue when we ask you to do a simple chore? It's about time someone taught you a lesson."

"_Wake up."_

"No..."

"_Wake **up**!"_

In a small Muggle hospital, miles and miles away from Hogwarts, Harry Potter sat up in bed, shivering.

* * *

Voldemort fumed. Harry Potter had escaped him once again. He didn't know how, but the brat had shown him up _again._ He gritted his teeth, growling, and Lucius Malfoy backed away further.

"How did this happen?" he finally managed to spit out.

"I – I don't know, my Lord," Malfoy said, letting some fear escape his icy mask.

Voldemort turned his fiery gaze onto the blond man. "Find him. **Now**."

As Malfoy backed away and fled from the room, Voldemort turned to throw a glass against the wall. It shattered loudly, throwing jagged slices of crystal into the fireplace.

"Temper, temper," a cold voice drawled from the shadows, mocking him.

"I don't have time for this, Alesander," he snarled, raging eyes searching for something else to smash.

"So the boy got away." Voldemort snarled again, practically hearing the shrug that accompanied the sentence. "You'll have other chances to kill him. You just have to be patient."

Voldemort sank into his chair, his long, thin white fingers resting on his temples. He closed his eyes and could feel Potter, writhing in pain. The sensation brought a smile to his lips.

"Now," Alesander smirked, "we have work to do."

* * *

"Headmaster!"

Dumbledore looked up from his desk at the fireplace, startled. Minerva, Pomona, and Filius stopped arguing and glanced over as well. Severus Snape's head was floating in the flames, looking fairly distressed.

"Severus!" Minerva scolded. "You're a half and hour late to the meeting. Did you fall asleep?"

"Something has happened, Headmaster," Severus said, ignoring Minerva's teasing. "It's… it's something that needs your immediate attention." The other teachers knew the urgency of the situation right away; it was rare to see the Potions master look so distraught.

"What is it, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, concern seeping into his words.

Severus took a deep breath, steeling himself for the blow he was about to deliver.

"It's about Harry. Albus, Voldemort has Harry."

Silence. Then, all hell broke lose without warning.

Minerva fell backwards in horror, Filius barely catching the distraught woman. Tears streamed down her face as she imagined the pain befalling one of her most beloved students. Pomona sat down, staring ahead, mouth moving in silent disbelief.

Albus closed his eyes tightly. "How do you know that?"

"Draco Malfoy was with him. Weasley as well. They went after the book, into the Riddle House. The other two made it out alright, but Harry… we have to find him."

"We will, Severus. We will." Albus stood shakily, leaning against the desk top for support. "I have to go tell Sirius and Remus now, before they hear it from someone else."

Severus nodded slightly and pulled his head out of the fireplace.

"What did he say?" Edge asked anxiously. She looked more worn down than Severus could ever remember seeing her, except for…

_No,_ Severus said quietly. _I won't think of that now._

"He's going to do whatever he can." Severus settled into the couch next to her. "Now we just have to wait."

Draco stood up, face looking wane and pale. "I'd better break the news to the twins, Neville, and Cho," he murmured softly, walking out. The door banged loudly in his wake as it slammed shut. Edge broke into noisy tears.

"Oh, Severus," she sobbed. "This can't be happening."

"It's alright, Anna." He rubbed her back as she cried into his robes. "We're going to find him. Harry will be fine."

Holding her in his arms brought back so many memories he longed to forget. Marianna – Anna, for short – had been his first real friend. She had grown up in the small village his own family manor was located in. Severus could recall the day he met her: he had been running through the woods, trying to escape the fights his mother and father were having …

_A seven year old Severus Snape threw himself down at the base of an old oak tree, head buried in his arms as he tried to forget the screams. He couldn't remember a time when his parents hadn't argued, but it had never been as bad as this. Never._

_Thunk!_

_He looked up abruptly, rubbing his head in irritation. _

"_Sorry about that. Can you toss that back up here?" A small girl was resting in the branches, laughing at his obvious discomfort. Severus stood and handed her the book she'd dropped. "What a strange coat," she commented, staring at his robes in amusement. He crossed his arms over his chest to hide them and blushed. She laughed again. "Not much of a talker are you? What's your name?"_

"_Severus," he said quietly._

"_Mine's Marianna. Where are you from? I've never seen you in town before."_

"_I live up there." He pointed towards the hill his manor was on._

"_In the haunted mansion? Cool!"_

"_Haunted mansion?"_

"_That what all the older kids say. Have you seen any ghosts there? I live in a boring cottage, right next to the library…"_

Severus and Anna had met several times a month in the years following until his father had discovered their meetings. Ramses Snape would not allow his only heir to associate with a Muggle and had forbid any further contact between the two. Severus used to sneak out to the village to see her anyway, she'd been worth it.

_Severus threw a small stone against the window of Anna's room. He had been waiting outside for almost ten minutes and was growing worried; Anna had never kept him waiting this long before._

_The house before him lay dark and deserted. A feeling of dread lay heavily in the pit of his stomach, causing him to abandon his fruitless task of speaking to her at the house. He wandered into the woods behind her house, quickly finding himself at the oak tree where they had first met. And there she was, lying at the foot of the tree._

_He immediately rushed to Anna's side. "What's wrong?" he asked fearfully, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into his worried face, tear streaking down her cheeks._

"_It's – it's Daddy," she cried, voice breaking. "Oh, god, Sev, he's dead. They killed him. He's dead. He's dead and he's not coming back. He's gone." Severus wrapped the small girl in his arms and let her weep out her grief._

That had been the last time he had seen her. She'd disappeared the next day, leaving naught a trace behind. And now, she was here again.

"I can't lose him, Sev," she whispered almost inaudibly, tears filling her eyes. "I can't afford to lose someone else…"

"It's going to be alright, Anna. I promise." Severus closed his eyes, hoping that Harry's stupid luck would continue, if only for the woman who sobbed so desperately out of concern for the boy.


	28. 27 Good Morning?

**A/N:This chapter didn't end exactly where I wanted it to. Oh, well. I'll try to update _something_ else before my birthday tomorrow.**

CH27: Good morning?

_Previous chapter: "Wake up."_

"_No..."_

"_Wake **up**!"_

_In a small Muggle hospital, miles and miles away from Hogwarts, Harry Potter sat up in bed, shivering._

"Ah, you're finally awake! Good morning."

Harry rubbed at his eyes, trying to cleanse them of their dryness. He blinked owlishly up at the sandy-haired man standing above him, who was scribbling something furiously on a nondescript clipboard. The man continued to smile widely at him.

"How are you feeling?"

"How-" His scratchy voice cracked sharply, making Harry wince. "Water?"

The man scurried over to the bedside table and poured a glass of water out of a small silver pitcher. "Here you go!" he chirped.

Harry gulped down the glass. "Thanks," he said softly. He glanced around the room. It was a long, narrow room, with a small window at the end where the curtains were open to let sunlight stream in. "Where am I?"

"St. Mary Hospital of Belleview," the man responded cheerily.

"How did I get here?"

"You don't remember?"

Harry tilted back on his pillows, scrunching his brilliant eyes shut tightly. He could remember …

_Ron slowly walking ahead of him, leading him down a skinny hallway. They walked up a pair of rickety stairs and headed into a small, dark office …_

"A mother and her daughter found you on the edge of town two days ago," the man went on explaining. "You were barely conscious and had severe lacerations covering most of your body. They called us and you were brought here immediately. Dr. Preston and I have been taking turns waiting for you to wake up." The man paused, apparently considering something. "Oh… I'm Dr. Turner, by the way," he offered somewhat sheepishly.

Harry tried desperately to wrap his mind around this. "Is Ron here?" _How did we end up at that house? We were just on the way home from school and then …What happened to Hermione? Was she there, is she okay?_

"Ron?"

"My friend. He was there with me. Is he here?" A slight note of panic rose in his voice.

"I'm sorry, child. There was no one else," he said gently. "Can you remember the last time you saw Ron? Where you were? We could send somebody to look for him."

"No … I don't remember."

"Nothing? You don't remember anything at all?"

"There's this gap…" He looked up, his green eyes wide with terror. "_I can't remember_!"

* * *

"It's quite common," remarked Dr. Margaret Preston, the resident psychiatrist at St. Mary's. "Many trauma victims suffer from repressed memories after severely disturbing incidents. They feel that the pain is too much for them to abide at the time, and, accordingly, they subconsciously suppress the unwanted memories." She peered through the doorway to the patient's room, watching as he restlessly slept on, oblivious to their conversation. A lock of dark hair settled in front of his mouth, rustling slightly as his breath came out in short, frantic gasps. The young man looked troubled, even in his sleep.

"I'll be back in a few hours," Turner said, following her eyes. Margaret was already walking into the room.

She sat down next to the slumbering boy and raised a hand to move the hair off his face. He flinched at her light touch and sat up, eyes open but unseeing.

_Patient covered in multitude of cuts. Previous scars include crook of elbow, collar bone, and a peculiar lightning bolt shaped line bisecting his forehead._ She scribbled in her notebook._ Traumatic behavior reoccurring? Possible child abuse?_

"Hello, child," she said in a soothing voice and laid her hand on his arm. He withdrew, startled.

"Who are you?" he asked, distrust filling his eyes.

_Startling green eyes. Much too old for the age he appears to be._

"My name is Margaret," she said, offering an encouraging smile. "It's nice to meet you." When he did not return the sentiment, she pressed on. "May I ask what your name is?"

"Harry," he replied slowly, never taking that piercing gaze off her face. "Harry Potter. What are you doing here?"

_Vulnerable. Uncertain._

"I just came to talk, Harry." She reclined in her seat. "Can you tell me something about yourself?"

Harry stared at his hands, twisting them together. "I don't know."

"Do you remember anything, Harry?" she continued gently, prodding. "How you got here? Where you came from?"

After a moment, he bit his lip and answered. "I know this sounds crazy, but I swear – I _swear_ – I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy, okay?"

"I never thought you were." She cooed, quietly pressing her pen to the notebook again.

_On guard. Defensive._

"It's just," he continued as if he never heard her, "I thought I was going home. Well, back to my relatives at least. Not home. But- well… but then I was in some house and then I was here … I don't know. I just don't _know_." He finally looked back up, his eyes shinning with fright. "Why can't I remember?"

A few hours later, Margaret emerged, disturbing creases lining her forehead and with a very full notebook in hand. Turner was waiting in the hall expectantly.

"His name is Harry," she said bluntly at his look. "And … I have absolutely no idea what is wrong with him."

Turner looked incredulous. "That's it? That's all you know?"

She sighed. "I have reason to suspect some form of child abuse from his 'relatives'. I also believe he is an orphan. Other than that, I have no idea how he got where he was found in the state he was found in. Mentally, there is nothing wrong with him, other than not being able to remember anything about his situation." She looked back at Harry, who had drifted back into an uneasy slumber. Margaret shook her head irritably, confused and without any ideas of what to do. "I just can't figure it out."

* * *

Draco took a deep breath and stared at the empty frame where the Fat Lady of Gryffindor usually resided. He slowly raised a fist and knocked impatiently.

The frame gradually swung open and a mop of bushy hair emerged. "Did you get locked out again–" She stopped abruptly at the young man standing before her. "Malfoy?" Upon hearing the name, the entire Common Room within fell deathly silent.

"Granger," Draco mumbled, inclining his head regally. "Is Longbottom here?" He had just broken the news of Harry's disappearance to a devastated Cho and he didn't have the patience to deal with the know-it-all.

Hermione crossed her arms across her chest and huffed obnoxiously. "No, he is not."

He remained unaffected by her irritation. "Are the Weasley Twins?"

"What do you want with them?" she spat hatefully.

"That is none of your business–"

"Let him in, Hermione," he heard one of the twins call out. He shot her a smug look and pushed past her. He remembered why he was there when faced with a roomful of hostile Gryffindors and the smile melted quickly.

"I need to talk to you," he said without preamble. The twins started to stand, only to be pulled back down to the couch by their friends.

"What are you, crazy?" Lee Jordan hissed. "You're going to go off with him alone? He's Malfoy!"

"Yeah," a tall boy with narrow eyes shouted. "Anything you can say to them you can say in front of us."

Draco took a controlled breath and gave the twins an indecipherable look. "It's about Harry."

"Harry?" Hermione squeaked, her glare disappearing. "What happened? What's wrong with Harry?"

The portrait swung open again and Neville stumbled in. "What's going on? Draco, what- ?"

"We need to talk–"

Hermione interrupted, her tone pleading. "What's going on, Malfoy? Tell me!"

"Would you shut up for once, Granger!" Malfoy yelled, finally letting the tension buildup from the night spill over. "This is none of your business!"

"He's my friend and I care about him! I want to know what happened!"

"Correction!" Malfoy bellowed. "He **_was_** your friend! You haven't spoken to him in months!"

"Tell me!"

"You betrayed him! You think he gives a damn about you any more?"

"Please tell me!"

He turned on her, eyes blazing and snapped. "You want to know? Fine. Harry was captured by the Dark Lord last night. They could be torturing him right now. He could already be dead. We don't even know." He collapsed against the wall and slid down, heedless of the horrified faces staring at him. "We don't even fucking know. Is that what you wanted to hear, Granger?"

* * *

"I'm telling you, ketchup is way better on fries than mayonnaise," Xander exclaimed for the twelfth time that morning. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"I like them this way," she replied, dipping the fries once more into the small pile of mayo on the side of her plate as Xander gagged.

From her vantage point on the other side of the room, Flame sighed and shot Dawn a pointed look. Dawn giggled back and motioned that her older sister could be nuts sometimes.

"I can't wait for Harry and Draco to get back," Flame said, settling her back on the arm rest of the couch.

Dawn gazed dreamily out the window. "Me neither." Flame rolled her eyes, disgusted by the gooey affection in her friend's face.

"Hey," Dawn said, sitting up and pointing out the window. "We got an owl."

Flame scrunched her forehead up in confusion as the owl dropped a small roll of parchment in front of her. She slowly broke the seal of the letter and read it.

The parchment fell to the floor as she fainted.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore stood wearily next to his desk, gazing out towards the Quidditch field where he had seen Harry play many times. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and turned back to his office, where a worried Pomona Sprout still remained by the fire, waiting for any news.

"Why don't you get some sleep now, Pomona," the Headmaster said gently. "You can-"

The fireplace suddenly roared to life and Albus could barely make out the head of a young Auror named Tom who was recently recruited to work for him.

"We found him!" he gasped out. "He's in a small community hospital in Belleview."

Pomona sighed with relief and Dumbledore smiled brighter than he had in a long time.

"There is, unfortunately, a problem." The worried looks immediately came back. "He …"Tom hesitated. "He doesn't remember."

"Remember?" Pomona asked, confused. "Remember what?"

"Remember anything." Tom quickly filled them in with the sparse details he knew.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "We'll retrieve him right away." Tom nodded briskly and vanished.

"Well," Pomona began, uncertainty clouding her voice. "This is … good news. I'll go inform Severus and Minerva. They'll be very relieved to hear–"

"No," said Dumbledore, scratching something down on a scrap of parchment. "We'll get Harry back here safe before we reveal this to too many people. We don't want to take any risks."

"Of course."

"No, we don't want anything to go wrong," he said to himself and glanced out the window, smiling as the light glittered off the Quidditch hoops. "We want Harry back here with us."


End file.
